Family: Return to Sunnydale
by victoriamartynne
Summary: Sequel to Family: Back to Sunnydale and Family: Forward to LA. Cordelia receives another phone call that leads her once again to Sunnydale.
1. Chapter One

Title: Family: Return to Sunnydale  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: Sequel to Family: Back to Sunnydale and Family: Forward to LA. Cordelia receives another phone call that leads her once again to Sunnydale.  
  
"Hey Cordelia." Buffy greeted across the phone line.  
  
She'd just come in from a long night slaying. Some sort of instinct had told her that Cordelia would still be up, seen as though there was still evil in LA as well as two young children.  
  
"Buffy! Hi!" Cordelia said into the phone and put down the low fat yoghurt she was eating so she could talk to Buffy properly.  
  
"You sound surprised." Buffy laughed. "You did tell me to call."  
  
"I know." Cordelia backtracked. "I just didn't expect you to call at two in the morning."  
  
"Did I wake you?" Buffy cringed.  
  
"No, of course not. How could I be asleep with these two horrors?" She said and glanced lovingly at the two, now sleeping children, in the adjoining nursery.  
  
"They're not sleeping?"  
  
"No, I think Connor's teething and Ash just has her father's stubborn streak."  
  
"I take it it's not a fun time in the hotel right now?"  
  
"You could say that." Cordelia mused. "Either the babies are crying or I'm getting visions or chunks of plaster drop off the roof on the third floor and wake us up."  
  
"Still not got the hotel done up, huh?" Buffy flicked on the TV and channel hopped.  
  
Cordelia snorted. "The furthest we get is talking about it. I tell you, it's like living in a construction site. We can't even go up past the third floor, I don't know what we'd do if our rooms weren't on the second floor."  
  
"How would you fancy taking a break?" Buffy asked expectantly.  
  
"A break?" Cordelia repeated.  
  
"Once again with the surprise." Buffy exclaimed.  
  
Cordelia laughed and apologised. "So, what do you have in mind?"  
  
"Well, there was a death yesterday, one of Dawn's teachers. Kind of. She was the cheerleading coach. And since I know that you went down in Sunnydale history as the best cheerleader and since I was better at killing things, I was wondering if you could come and coach the cheerleaders."  
  
"Dawn's a cheerleader? Wow, pretty cool." Cordelia commented. "Of course I'll come."  
  
Buffy sighed in relief. "Thank god! Dawn was bugging me to call you and kept insisting that you were the only person she wanted for the job.  
  
"So, that's the only reason you called, huh?" Cordelia teased.  
  
Buffy continued as if she hadn't heard the remark. "I think a couple of the older girls are picking on her so Dawn started bragging and had to fulfil the promise of you. Well, she started to get me to do it, but I'm better at the whole slice and dice thing than the cheerleading thing."  
  
"And don't we all know that!" Cordelia laughed.  
  
"Okay, I'll admit it; I wasn't the world's best cheerleader. So, can you get here for Thursday? Two days?"  
  
"Sure, but you do realise that I'll have to bring everyone. I can't leave the babies and Angel won't let us go to the hell mouth on our own. Then everyone else will want to come too."  
  
"That'll be fine." Buffy promised.  
  
"So, come on Buffy, who's wearing what in Sunnydale?"  
  
Both girls laughed and settled down for a girly chat.  
  
Three hours later Angel came back to the hotel after fighting a Haklar demon and found Cordelia still on the phone.  
  
"Who is it?" He asked and took off his coat.  
  
She covered the mouthpiece. "Buffy." She whispered.  
  
She uncovered the mouthpiece. "He didn't? You're kidding!"  
  
"What does she want?" He sounded suspicious.  
  
She covered the mouthpiece again. "To talk."  
  
Angel shot her a puzzled look and went to take a shower.  
  
"I gotta go, Angel's home, I guess I didn't realise how late, or rather early, it is. I'll call you tomorrow."  
  
She hung up the phone and threw the remnants of her now warm yoghurt in the bin.  
  
She got up and went into the bathroom. She was still wearing her robe after her shower hours ago. She sat herself in the chair in the corner of the room where she could sit and talk to Angel as he showered.  
  
"Hey, want to join me?" He asked when he saw her sit down.  
  
She yawned. "Maybe not, I took a shower before Buffy called. I'm kind of sleepy."  
  
"Take advantage of that while you can." Angel suggested. "One of them will be awake before long."  
  
She smiled. "I know."  
  
"What did Buffy want?"  
  
"To ask me to go on to Sunnydale."  
  
He poked his head around the shower curtain. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Dawn's on the cheerleading squad and the coach was killed. Dawn is getting picked on by some of the older girls and she told them that she knew one of the cheerleading greats. So now I have to go there to stop her looking like an idiot. Plus I like the idea. It could be cool."  
  
"And you actually want to go?" He looked surprised. "What about Connor and Ashleigh? They need you."  
  
"You can all come. Everyone. We can stay in your mansion. Business isn't exactly booming at the moment. It can be a holiday for the Angel Investigations crew." She smiled at him and he turned off the shower.  
  
She flung him a towel. "How long will we have to stay?"  
  
"Until my fantastic cheer moves stick and they begin to move like champs." She smirked and then received a smile in response.  
  
"How kind of Dawn to recommend you." He said sarcastically, slipping into a pair of sweatpants.  
  
"I thought so." She said, ignoring his sarcasm. She came to wrap her arms around him from behind, lacing her fingers with his.  
  
She let her hands drift lower until they drifted to the top of his pants. "So, am I allowed to go Master?" She mocked.  
  
He turned around, pressing her to the wall. "Master? I could get used to that."  
  
She felt his hardness against her thigh. "I bet you could."  
  
He leant down to kiss her neck, slipping the robe off her shoulder a little to reveal more flesh. "I shouldn't get used to it should I?"  
  
She shook her head and gasped when he bit her shoulder gently.  
  
His hands travelled down her body to unfasten the belt on the robe and slip it off her arms. She stood there naked in front of him. He snaked his arms around her body to grip her ass and lift her up against the wall.  
  
"Does that mean we can go?" She asked as he left kisses on her collarbone.  
  
"I suppose we can sort something out." He murmured, not lifting his head up.  
  
"Great." She replied and moaned as his fingers began wandering.  
  
"Maybe we should take this to the bed." He suggested and carried her across.  
  
He lay her down gently in the middle of their bed. She winced when she realised he'd placed her on one of Connor's plastic building blocks. She flung it out of the bed and onto the floor near the door. He slipped out of his pants and joined her on the bed.  
  
He let his hand rest on her now flat and toned abdomen, the scar from her c- section hardly visible. You'd never tell that she had been pregnant if it wasn't for her enlarged bust. But he wasn't complaining about that. He kissed her deeply and shifted slightly so that he could enter her more easily.  
  
Suddenly there was a loud quacking noise. They both looked down, Cordelia sitting up slightly. He fumbled under the blankets before pulling out a talking duck. Their movement had set it off. They lay back on the bed with a sigh.  
  
"This isn't going to work." She stated. "Not with toys in the bed and children in the same room."  
  
"Nope." He agreed.  
  
"Maybe we should go to sleep." She suggested and he nodded reluctantly.  
  
"Yeah." He sighed.  
  
She snuggled into the crook of his arm and they went to sleep. 


	2. Chapter Two

Title: Family: Return to Sunnydale  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: Sequel to Family: Back to Sunnydale and Family: Forward to LA. Cordelia receives another phone call that leads her once again to Sunnydale.  
  
Angel woke up after sundown the next night. He looked across into the adjoining room and saw that both children were gone. He pulled himself out of the bed and grabbed the discarded sweatpants that were lying on the floor next to the bed. He pulled them on and made his way downstairs.  
  
Cordelia was perched on the counter feeding Ashleigh while Gunn was trying to teach Connor to hold a baseball.  
  
"When do we leave?" Fred was asking excitedly.  
  
"Not until Thursday Fred, so you can chill for a while, okay?" Cordelia smiled, crossing her legs.  
  
Angel came to stand behind her, resting a hand on the small of her back.  
  
She murmured a quick hello to him and turned to Lorne. "Will you be able to baby sit for me Lorne?"  
  
He grinned. "Sure thing princess."  
  
"Oh, and Wes, Buffy mentioned something about an Amara demon. I think she said it killed the cheerleading coach."  
  
Wes shoved his glasses up on his nose and stood up eagerly. "I'll go and research, see if there's anything I can help them with."  
  
Cordelia laughed at his eagerness. "Oh, and Gunn, can we take your truck? I can go in Angel's car with him and the children. Then Lorne, Fred and Wes can go with you. Oh, you only have three seats; Lorne can come with us then."  
  
Gunn nodded and said nothing; Cordelia was obviously on a roll. "Ok, then we."  
  
She was cut off as Angel's hand clamped over her mouth, shutting her up. "Cor, take a break okay? I'll bet you've been on about this since they got here."  
  
Angel received nods from Fred, Gunn and Lorne.  
  
"Okay, fine!" Cordelia held up her free hand. "But if we get there and we have nothing we need then it's your fault!"  
  
She suddenly began to float off the counter. "Not a vision, I don't want a vision!" She wailed.  
  
"What do you see?" Angel asked and came around the counter to her frowning.  
  
"A group of kids in Hancock Park, they're going to be attacked by seven, no eight vampires. And a yellow demon."  
  
She floated back to the counter, into Angel's waiting arms. "We have to move."  
  
"I'll stay and watch the kids." Lorne volunteered.  
  
Wes made his way to the weapons cabinet and began to hand out weapons. "We'll take your car Angel."  
  
Cordelia kissed Connor and Ashleigh, who were put in Wes's office and they all hurried out of the doors.  
  
They arrived back at the hotel bloodied and beaten. The demon had been harder to kill than it looked. It had managed to get in several good punches to Gunn and Angel before it was killed. Fred had twisted her ankle in a rock while fighting one of the vampires. Wes had been punched in the face and had had his glasses broken, leaving a cut above his eye where the glass had cut him. Cordelia had somehow managed to get thrown in the ornamental fountain, resulting in her getting a bump on the back of her head as well as being soaking wet.  
  
"Princess!" Lorne exclaimed as he saw the shivering and dripping Cordelia. "Take a bath while you were out did you? Fred, honey, you took the whole falling for him literally, didn't you?"  
  
Gunn was carrying her from the car so she didn't have to put weight on the injured ankle.  
  
Cordelia scowled at Lorne. "Go ahead, laugh it up!" She said angrily and squelched across the lobby.  
  
"Hey, Cordy, I was just messing with you." Lorne apologised and looked at Angel in confusion.  
  
She went straight upstairs leaving the gang to look after her in confusion.  
  
"Fred, honey, sit down there and I'll get the first aid kit out." Gunn said and placed Fred gently on the couch. "You two need patching up?" He looked at Angel and Wes.  
  
They both shook their heads. "Are the children upstairs?" Angel asked Lorne.  
  
"I took them up an hour ago. The monitor's on." He unclipped it from his belt and gave it to Angel.  
  
Angel said goodnight. Even though he had only been up a couple of hours, the others including Cordelia had been up since that morning and had spent the day working on their cases. When he'd found out what was wrong with Cordelia he'd come back downstairs and work out or do some research.  
  
He opened the door and heard the shower running. He took off his coat and flinched a little as he felt a wound on his back. He pulled off his shirt and shoes and sat down on the bed to wait for her to finish.  
  
She came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. Her hair was wet and wild around her shoulders. She jumped when she saw him sat there. "Jeez Angel, couldn't you have whistled or something?"  
  
"I don't whistle." He told her. "What's wrong?"  
  
She sat down at the small dressing table. "There's nothing wrong."  
  
He came over to sit on the end of the bed, just behind her. Looking in the mirror she could see only herself. "Cor, come on, I know you better than anyone. I can tell there's something wrong."  
  
She started to run a brush through her hair. She jumped when she found the bump on the back of her head. "Ow."  
  
He reached forward to smooth her hair out of the way so he could see if she was bleeding. "It's just a bump, no cut. Now talk to me."  
  
She shook her head and looked down.  
  
"Come on Cor, you know you can tell me anything." He urged and stroked her neck with his fingers.  
  
"I know, and it's nothing. I just felt really useless tonight. Maybe it's pent up frustration or lack of sleep but it just felt like no matter how hard I hit that vamp he didn't get any weaker. In the end I just gave up, that must be how I ended up in the fountain. I think being a mom to two children is really taking it out of me. I can't seem to concentrate on my work any more. Maybe last night left me sexually frustrated or something, I don't know." She laughed softly.  
  
He turned her around gently so that she was facing him. "You had an off night, that was all. You're handling everything just fine."  
  
"I'm not." She sighed. "I feel useless, I feel like now that I'm a mom I can't do anything right."  
  
"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.  
  
"I mean, I can't look after them properly because there's two of them and when I'm in the middle of feeding one the other one starts to cry so they both end up being unhappy because I haven't got the time to see to them both. We can't make love because there's always something getting in the way, like the babies or cases or me being tired. It just seems like we're never able to spend any us time anymore. Pretty soon you'll end up going off me. I can't even concentrate anymore when we're working. I just keep expecting one of them to cry, even though they're not with me. That might be why I ended up in the fountain earlier on. I thought I heard one of them crying and I lost my concentration. Everything is just building up right now, there's too much pressure. Everyone is expecting me to be so strong and in control and I'm not." She said sadly.  
  
"No-one is expecting you to be a certain way." Angel began. "You're handling everything brilliantly. At least, that's what I thought. The babies are fine. They're being looked after as well as possible."  
  
"How do you know that they're really happy?" Cordelia asked him and turned around so she could see him.  
  
"Look at Connor, his first word was mama, not daddy or Cordelia, it was mama. And Ashleigh loves you just as much. She smiles at you all the time; I don't care how much you say it's wind." He stroked her face. "You're not neglecting them and thinking you hear them when you're out is natural for a mom. You worry and it's good. If you want more time off work then I'm sure Wes would let you. And if he won't we'll both have to quit."  
  
She smiled slightly, knowing that as the warrior and the seer, they couldn't quit and any demands that they made would have to be met. "What about us? Will you go off me if we don't get to spend any time together to do. stuff?"  
  
"Cor, I will love you no matter what we do together. It's you that makes me love you not the things that we do." He smiled. "I will always love you."  
  
"Besides, you were a eunuch before you got with me." She joked slightly.  
  
He frowned at her but wasn't angry. "You are the person who brought me alive. You gave me the chance to love again, the chance to have children, happiness. You made me smile. You are the strongest person I know and if you are feeling weak right now then I know it will not last long. As for making love, it isn't essential, it's an added extra. I have to admit, a very good added extra, but not one I have to have. Hell, I went without it for long enough."  
  
"I guess." She replied, looking a little less mournful. "But you will tell me if I'm holding you all back at work, right?"  
  
"I promise." He kissed her forehead. "I'll tell you what, why don't we get Lorne to look after the babies tomorrow night in his room and we'll spend the whole night together on our own before we go away?"  
  
"That sounds really good." She smiled.  
  
"I'll sort it." Angel promised. "Now, why don't you dry your hair and then get some sleep. I'll come back and see you in a little while."  
  
She nodded and grabbed her hairdryer as he left to go and talk to Lorne.  
  
By the time he came back upstairs she was fast asleep. He kissed her forehead and then lay down next to her on the bed to read. He'd talked to Wes downstairs, in total confidence of course, about what Cordelia had told him. He'd suggested that maybe she could be suffering from postnatal depression or may just be finding being a mother to two children, not one, more difficult than she had imagined. He suggested that she take it easy at work when she came back from the retreat and take time to bond with Ashleigh and spend time with both of them outside the hotel. He'd also suggested that they should spend some time together outside work hours. He offered to baby sit for them so they could go out or even if they wanted to just stop in. Although he did insist that whatever they did while they were alone must never be told to him.  
  
When Ashleigh cried during the night Cordelia was the one who got up to her. Angel woke as she climbed out of the bed but didn't say anything and didn't move.  
  
He watched as Cordelia lifted her gently out of her crib to feed her. He watched as her silhouette moved towards the window. She sat down and rocked her gently in her arms until she was full and dropping off to sleep again. Silently Angel got out of bed and came to sit behind her, wrapping his arms around them both.  
  
"She really is beautiful, just like her mother." He kissed her shoulder. "She'll be a model one day or an actress."  
  
"I hear that wanting to be an actress is a valid career choice." She whispered.  
  
"I hear it works out well in some cases." He kissed her again, his hair tickling her ear and making her shiver.  
  
She smiled. "These are the moments I like." She whispered. "The ones where the world is so peaceful, there are no helpless to be helped, just us here being happy."  
  
"I like this too." He replied, resting his chin on her shoulder. "The quiet world is the nicest."  
  
Once Cordelia was up and dressed she was banned from the room. Angel and Fred had disappeared upstairs as soon as she had left. Cordelia had remarked how suspicious it had looked but was only teasing.  
  
She called Buffy at lunchtime and confirmed the time she was expected at the retreat.  
  
"You'd better go shopping before you leave." Buffy advised.  
  
"Why?" Cordelia asked, confused.  
  
"Dawn told her friends that you're the image of superwoman." Buffy replied devilishly.  
  
Cordelia laughed. "No chance, she does realise that I just had a baby?"  
  
"I'm sure she couldn't forget that. So, what time will you get here?"  
  
"We're leaving after sunset so we'll be there about eight-ish."  
  
"Okay, where are you staying?"  
  
"Hell, where do you think? The cheapest place in town."  
  
Buffy said nothing and waited patiently for Cordelia to continue. "The mansion."  
  
"Oh my God." Buffy exclaimed. "That place is disgusting!"  
  
"Don't I know that." Cordelia said dryly.  
  
"Oh, I gotta go, Dawn just came in so I'd better go before she realises it's you on the phone. You'll never get away."  
  
They said goodbye and hung up.  
  
Cordelia didn't take Buffy's advice and spend the afternoon shopping for superwoman outfits but she did go shopping for evening wear, insisting that if she was going back to her hometown she was going to go there in style. Angel refrained from reminding her tat they were there only a few weeks back and just let her take his credit card. After trying on countless dresses she decided that she really could pull off a form fitting dress and bought a deep crimson one with matching shoes. She spent a little time browsing through expensive boutiques that she could never afford to buy anything from and then went to have a cappuccino in the park.  
  
She sat near the children's play area and wished that she'd brought Ashleigh and Connor. Ash couldn't have gone in of course, but Connor could have had a go. She watched the playing children for a while as she drank her coffee and then made her way back to the hotel, stopping at a couple more shops and buying a few more things for their 'holiday'.  
  
When she went in the hotel doors it seemed as if no-one had seen her. Wes and Gunn were crawling around on their hands and knees chasing Connor who was tottering around the floor laughing. Fred had Ashleigh in her arms giving her a bottle while Lorne leaned against the counter with a drink in his hand, probably a sea breeze, she thought. Angel was sat on the counter in the corner looking very hot in the leather pants and black sweater that she loved.  
  
"Nice to see you're getting some work done in here." She called out as she came through the door.  
  
Gunn looked up and grinned. "We are working."  
  
"Really?" Cordelia asked sceptically and tilted her head to one side.  
  
"Yeah, Drivers Ed for children." He joked.  
  
She smiled and came down the stairs.  
  
"Hey, have fun shopping?" Angel asked.  
  
"It was okay and no, I didn't spend much. I just bought the essentials."  
  
Wes snorted. "The things you call essentials tend not to be essentials."  
  
She pulled a face. "There was no way you could have gone skiing without that cute visor Wesley, it set off the outfit. And besides, it hid the black eye you had."  
  
Fred giggled.  
  
Angel draped an arm around Cordelia's shoulder. "It was pink."  
  
"So, you had to wear Wes's pink bike helmet that time." She pointed out.  
  
"Can we please not remind me of that every time someone mentions the colour pink?" Angel frowned.  
  
"You mentioned it bro'." Gunn told him from behind the couch where he had followed Connor.  
  
"True!" Fred laughed. "What shade of pink was it?"  
  
She laughed even more when Angel's frown deepened.  
  
"Okay, let's get back to work!" Angel decided and hopped off the counter.  
  
"Close your eyes." Angel instructed Cordelia that night as they approached their room.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Why do I need to close my eyes?"  
  
"Cordelia." He growled. "Do what you're told for once and humour me!"  
  
She rolled her eyes again but did as she was told and closed her eyes. His arms wrapped around her waist and he directed her through the door. He walked her forward until she was stood in the middle of the room.  
  
"And open." He whispered in her ear.  
  
She opened her eyes and gasped. The room had been filled with tea lights and church candles of all colours sending a multicoloured glow through the room. There was a bottle of champagne next to the bed and a tub of strawberries with cream in a bowl on the side.  
  
She turned to him. "You did all this for me?"  
  
"Of course I did, you said you were feeling down that we couldn't spend any us time together so I thought we could have a special night before we go away." He smiled and stroked her cheek. "You like?"  
  
"I love!" She exclaimed. She looked around the room again. "There are no toys in the bed are they?"  
  
He laughed. "No, I made sure of that. The only things that are going in the bed tonight are us."  
  
She smiled again. "What are we waiting for then?"  
  
They didn't get any sleep at all that night. A wild thought crossed her mind that she wished they didn't have to go but it was quickly dismissed as she remembered what she was going to be doing there. Cheerleading, her favourite hobby. Or at least, it had been.  
  
She sighed as she laid her head on Angel's chest.  
  
"What?" He asked.  
  
"I was just thinking how nice it would be to spend our whole lives like this."  
  
He laughed softly. "That would be good."  
  
She looked at the clock and groaned. "I'm going to have to get up and take a shower. And thanks to you I have to repack my bag."  
  
He'd insisted that she try on her new dress for him which meant she'd had to unpack her bag to find it.  
  
"Sorry." He apologised meekly but she knew he didn't mean it.  
  
She sat up in the bed and swung her legs out of the covers. "Come on, I'll shower and you pack."  
  
He groaned. "You don't want company?" He pouted.  
  
She laughed as kissed his neck. "If you end up in there with me I'll never get ready!"  
  
"True!" He grinned and watched her as she went into the bathroom naked. Thanks to all the training she'd been doing with him since she'd had Ashleigh she'd regained her figure and was more toned than she had been before, if that was possible. She was just glad that she'd developed cravings for lettuce and not something like chocolate or Ben and Jerry's. He heard the shower turn on and decided he'd better get Cordy's bag packed before she got out.  
  
In the end he'd repacked her bag in record time which meant he could join her in the shower. It was afternoon before they got downstairs.  
  
"Had a good night?" Gunn asked as they came downstairs together.  
  
"Better than you by the looks of it." Cordelia commented, noticing the bruises around the black man's eye. "What happened Gunn? Pick a fight with Fred and lose?"  
  
Fred spluttered and then covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry Charles."  
  
Gunn looked at Cordelia again. "Thanks a lot Barbie, make my girl think she can beat me up!"  
  
When she just looked at him he relented. "A girl was getting attacked a couple of streets away from my place. I stepped in to help and found that it was just a domestic. I got punched for attempting to help."  
  
Cordelia looked shocked. "The man punched you?"  
  
"Why do you assume it's a man?" Wes said quietly, which earned him a dark look from Gunn.  
  
"The woman punched you?" Cordelia said, her eyes widening.  
  
"They were both women." He mumbled.  
  
"What was that Gunn?" Lorne asked, smiling.  
  
"Okay, what's going on here?" Angel asked, coming back from the kitchen with a mug of blood for himself and coffee for Cordelia.  
  
"They were two lesbians okay?" Gunn burst out. "I was hit by a lesbian for interrupting a domestic she was having with her girlfriend!"  
  
Cordelia smirked but hid it behind her mug.  
  
Angel decided to change the subject. "Maybe we should get the cars packed up? Or rather you can get the cars packed up in the sun while I stay here, preferably with Cordy, and not burst into flames?"  
  
"Okay." Wes said, getting back in control. "Mine, Fred's and Gunn's bags are in my office. Angel, I'm assuming yours, Cordelia's and the children's bags are in your room. Lorne?"  
  
"In my room, I'll go get it." Lorne answered, standing up. "I'll fetch yours as well Angel Cakes. There'd better not be anything in your room that I don't need to see!" He warned.  
  
Angel looked puzzled and Cordelia promised to explain it later. "He's a vampire!" She shouted up the stairs. 


	3. Chapter Three

Title: Family: Return to Sunnydale  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: Sequel to Family: Back to Sunnydale and Family: Forward to LA. Cordelia receives another phone call that leads her once again to Sunnydale.  
  
Cordelia and Angel sat on the couch together with Ashleigh and Connor.  
  
"You're going to Sunnydale honey." Cordelia crooned to Ashleigh. "But I have to warn you, it's not a nice place. It's on the mouth of hell and it has lots of scary demons."  
  
"Geez Cor, give her nightmares why don't you?" Angel commented.  
  
She ignored him. "But we won't let anything happen to you will we? No we won't. because your daddy and I love you too much. And all your various aunts and uncles. It's a scary place but some of the people aren't that bad. Aunt Buffy even saved your life!"  
  
"If it's such a bad place why do you want to go back?" Angel smiled, holding onto Connor's shirt as he attempted to waddle off.  
  
"Only the Gods know that." Cordelia said wryly. "I sure as hell don't. It might be okay though. I get to cheer, which I love, or I used to. I get to show those bullying brats just who is the biggest bitch I Sunnydale history and help Dawn out plus, it could be kind of cool to be in charge!"  
  
"Oh yeah, because that never happens around here." He teased and then leant over to kiss her.  
  
She sighed happily as his lips met hers, flashes of their lovemaking that night entering her mind. Almost instinctively her hands reached for his thigh but then she seemed to realise where they were. She pulled back blushing. "Wow, that could have ended up being embarrassing."  
  
Angel fidgeted in his seat, pulling Connor into his lap. "Already is." He muttered.  
  
She didn't meet his eyes she just let a small smiled grace her lips.  
  
"Angel Cakes, please for the love of God let Precious put something else on the radio!" Lorne complained from the back or Angel's car as they drove. "There's only so much classical music I can listen to!"  
  
"It's supposed to be calming!" Angel insisted and glanced over at Cordelia. "It calmed Cordy, she's fast asleep."  
  
Lorne threw up his hands in defeat. "Okay, but can we at least turn it down so we can not damage my eardrums."  
  
Angel complied and turned it down slightly. "Thank you."  
  
They travelled along in silence for about ten minutes. "So, Cordy is asleep?"  
  
"Yeah." Angel replied warily, glancing in the rear view mirror at Lorne and the children. "So?"  
  
"What did you do to her last night?" Lorne asked grinning at him.  
  
Angel just sighed and tuned his attention back to the road.  
  
"Gunn, for goodness' sake!" Wes shouted to the driver of the truck. "This noise is not music! It's noise!"  
  
"Yo English, quit yammering in my ride!" Gunn told him.  
  
"Gunn, I demand that you turn this racket off right now!" Wes ordered, crossing his arms.  
  
"D'you want to be out on your ear English? Cos that's the way you're headed!" Gunn warned and cranked up the volume a bit more, which aggravated Wes even more.  
  
"Does this. this. so called music annoy you too?" A perplexed Wes asked Fred, who was sat in between the two men.  
  
She nodded. "I complain but it does no good."  
  
"I can see why!" Wes shouted to the girl. "I'm surprised he can even hear your complaints! I've been to quieter parties!"  
  
Gunn snorted and flashed Wes a grin. "Now I know you're lying, you've never partied man!"  
  
Instead of going straight to the mansion, Cordelia insisted that Angel drive straight to Buffy's house.  
  
The slayer had been watching for them and came running outside to meet them.  
  
Cordelia jumped out of the car and ran to hug Buffy.  
  
"Oh my God, you changed your hair again!" Cordelia exclaimed as Buffy's arms went around her.  
  
Buffy laughed. "Yeah, I thought I'd wait until you got here to tell you that."  
  
"Well, it looks adorable!"  
  
"And look at you!" Buffy said and stood back to look at Cordelia. "You're so slim!"  
  
Cordelia laughed. "Yeah, the beach ball has gone!"  
  
"How is the beach ball?"  
  
"Sleeping, thank God for Lorne, I think she likes the colour green." Cordelia pointed to where Ashleigh was nestled into Lorne's arms sleeping peacefully.  
  
"Wow, she's grown! Look at the size of her, what are you feeding her? Plant food?" Buffy laughed and waved hello to Angel and Lorne.  
  
Cordelia looked down the road as she heard wild rock music playing. "What on Earth." She began as she saw Gunn's truck tear down the street.  
  
"They belong to you?" Spike asked, leaning against the door.  
  
"Hey!" Cordelia called towards him. "It's good to see you!"  
  
"You too Cheerleader!" Spike smiled as he saw Angel frown. "Are you coming in or going to get settled at your mansion? Dawn got some blood in for you."  
  
Gunn pulled up and turned the music down.  
  
"Oh, thank the Lord!" Wesley said quietly, hearing bells in is ears now that the music was low.  
  
"What's up Wes? Can't you hack it?" Buffy taunted playfully.  
  
He smiled in response, no longer feeling any awkward or hard feelings towards his former slayer.  
  
"Cor, back in the car." Angel ordered. "We'll come to the Bronze when we're unpacked." He said to Buffy.  
  
Cordelia glanced at Buffy. "I have been summoned. I'll see you later!"  
  
Cordelia threw a pillow at Angel's head. "I always sleep in the left hand side!"  
  
He batted it aside. "Not always." He said slyly. "Sometimes we share the right."  
  
She stuck a hand on her hip and pouted at him. "That doesn't count." She said finally and turned around to finish unpacking.  
  
"Lorne, would you please desist?" Wesley asked annoyed as Lorne spun around the room singing Madonna's Like a Virgin.  
  
"Touched for the very first time." He sang out, ignoring the uptight Englishman.  
  
"Lorne!" Wes whined. "If we are to share a room then there have to be some ground rules."  
  
Lorne rolled his eyes and sang louder while he unpacked.  
  
"Yo girl." Gunn said to Fred. "D'you hear singing?"  
  
Fred giggled. "I think Lorne is annoying Wesley."  
  
"Maybe we should go help English out." Gunn suggested half-heartedly and practiced swinging his axe round in the corner of their room while Fred did the unpacking for both of them.  
  
Simultaneously they shook their heads at each other and smiled.  
  
Cordelia stood at the top of the stairs, where her and Angel's room was, in a pair of jeans, a floaty top, and killer stiletto boots.  
  
"Is everyone ready?" She shouted down the stairs where the other bedrooms were.  
  
"I am!" Wes shouted and hurried out of his room.  
  
Cordy smirked. "What's up Wes?"  
  
He straightened the collar of his shirt. "Nothing, I am quite all right."  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, let's go people!"  
  
"Why are you so excited to be back here?" Wes asked.  
  
"I don't know. When we were here before I didn't have friends."  
  
"When we came back for the wedding or when you used to live here?" Wes asked and leaned on the banister.  
  
"Both, I never had friends here." She told him and sat down on the top step. "I was the bitch. I said what I thought and they didn't like me for it. Now we're friends and it's different. It's like I can belong here again and fit in."  
  
"There'd better not be any plans about staying here." Angel said, having come out of their room and hearing the last part of her sentence.  
  
She snorted. "Hell no, I hate this place."  
  
Wes just smiled.  
  
Gunn and Fred came out of their room followed by Lorne from his.  
  
"Hey pumpkin." Lorne said to Cordelia. "Where are the bubs?"  
  
"In our room, but if you want to come we can take them with us." Cordelia offered.  
  
He shook his head. "I don't think the green will go down well, this being the hell mouth and all."  
  
She accepted his reasoning. "Okay, but only if you're sure."  
  
He nodded again. "I'm going to get myself a sea breeze and sit down to watch some TV."  
  
"Sorry, no TV." Angel said and received a surprised look from Lorne. "I'm a vampire."  
  
Lorne shrugged and went down the hall to the kitchen.  
  
"Okay, can we go now?" Cordelia asked, bored with waiting.  
  
Angel helped her up and they all went downstairs.  
  
"Xander!" Cordelia exclaimed. "Looking handsome!"  
  
He blushed and hugged her.  
  
Angel bristled at her behaviour to her ex, even though he knew she wasn't interested.  
  
"Willow, I love the pants."  
  
Willow looked down self consciously. "Really?"  
  
"Sure!" Cordelia reassured.  
  
"I like the boots." Willow said shyly and received a hug and a hundred watt smile in response.  
  
"Tara, hi, it's good to see you again. Next time these guys drop into LA you should come." Cordelia turned to Willow's girlfriend and she smiled shyly at her.  
  
Cordelia moved back to Angel's side and felt his arm go around her. "See, friends."  
  
She murmured into his ear.  
  
"Okay, I get the point." He whispered back.  
  
"Cordy!" A voice screamed.  
  
She turned around to be nearly knocked down by Dawn.  
  
"Hey Dawnie." Cordelia hugged her back. "How are you?"  
  
"When can we start training?" She asked excitedly.  
  
Cordelia and Angel laughed. "You want to start tomorrow right? What time?"  
  
"Around three? In the gym?" Dawn asked hopefully.  
  
"Sure." Cordelia agreed, causing the girl to jump and hug her again.  
  
She ran off to tell Spike who was sat close to Buffy in a dark corner. Anya was sat opposite with Giles discussing business.  
  
Cordelia waved to Buffy and raised an eyebrow at how close she was sat to Spike.  
  
Buffy grinned and gave her the finger playfully.  
  
Cordelia turned to Angel. "Want to dance?"  
  
"I don't dance."  
  
"Don't, not can't." She clarified and grabbed his hand, leading him by the hand to the dance floor.  
  
She wrapped her arms around his neck and they began to dance slowly to the not that slow song.  
  
"We don't have to do anything tonight do we?" She asked, leaning into his body.  
  
"We don't have to." He said into her neck. "But I can think of one thing I'd like to do."  
  
She laughed softly. "I like that plan."  
  
"It's weird being back here. Again." He told her, letting his hand run over the small of her back, making her shiver.  
  
"I know." She agreed. "But this time I kinda like it. Last time I didn't get a chance to do anything while I was here. With the wedding and killing my demon dad and everything. This time I get to cheer, which I used to love, and I get to be with the people that I love and have a bit of fun."  
  
"Or a lot of fun." He clarified and let his hand drift to her ass.  
  
She laughed and swatted his hand away.  
  
"Cordelia Chase?" A voice asked.  
  
She turned and gasped. "Aura? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Jeez, Cordy, could you sound any less happy to see me?" Aura said, putting one hand on her hip.  
  
"I'm sorry, it's just I didn't think you were living here anymore." Cordelia said, she didn't really want to see Aura at the moment.  
  
"I'm not. I live in Boston, I'm at college there. I'm home for the weekend. What are you doing here?" She asked and raised an eyebrow sceptically.  
  
Angel sensed Cordelia's discomfort and put an arm around her waist. "I'm here for a break. I'm going to be the new cheerleading coach at the school."  
  
"Oh." Aura said, looking less than interested. "So, are you at school?"  
  
"No." Cordelia replied quietly.  
  
"Then what's happening with you?" She asked and smiled slightly, not altogether pleasantly.  
  
"I had a baby." She came out with the first thing she could think of and then instantly regretted it.  
  
Aura snorted. "You had a baby? How did that happen? Didn't you want a termination?"  
  
Cordelia suddenly looked angry. "Of course I didn't want a termination! I wanted to have a baby. And it happened because I found a man that I love and I want to spend my life with."  
  
Aura suddenly looked more interested. "So, you're getting married."  
  
"No." Cordelia shook her head.  
  
"Aura, is it?" Buffy asked as she came up to them, Spike following.  
  
"Oh, it's you." Aura looked less interested with Buffy and turned back to Cordelia.  
  
"So, you had a baby, you're not getting married and you're not going to college? What are you doing with your life?"  
  
"Cordelia is living her life instead of striving to be something that she doesn't know whether she'll like." Angel added, a hard edge to his voice.  
  
Aura looked angry. "Hey!"  
  
"Look Aura, you and me, completely different." Cordelia concluded. "We were only the same in high school because you were a sheep and copied everything that I did. I am happy with my life. I wouldn't change a thing. Can you say that about your life?"  
  
Aura pulled a face. "You're twenty one years old and you have a child, no qualifications and if I remember right you live in a hotel. Let's take a reality check."  
  
She sauntered off, leaving Cordelia, Angel, Buffy and Spike stood together in the middle of the dance floor.  
  
"Reality check?" Cordelia looked at her friends. "The next time the world ends I'll give her a reality check!"  
  
Buffy smiled. "Want to take a reality check and patrol with me?"  
  
Cordelia smiled back. "Sure, I'll see you later okay?" She said to Angel and kissed his cheek.  
  
"So, I guess Aura hasn't changed." Buffy said as they walked through one of Sunnydale's graveyards. "Unlike some people."  
  
Cordelia grinned. "I guess I have changed slightly."  
  
"Pft, slightly? That's an understatement. You used to strike fear into people and bitch about them until they were ready to lop off their own heads." Buffy remembered their high school days.  
  
"And now what am I?"  
  
"A pussycat?" Buffy offered and took Cordelia's arm.  
  
"Great." Cordelia said. "A furry little animal with nine lives and sharp claws." She thought for a moment. "That's pretty accurate."  
  
Buffy laughed and then stopped. "Almost as accurate as three vampires coming towards us?"  
  
Cordelia looked where Buffy was looking at nodded. "Almost, I'll take one you take two."  
  
They split up to separate the vampires. Luckily two took after Buffy leaving one for Cordelia to dust.  
  
After being thrown around a bit they dusted the vamps and joined back up. They were both breathing heavily. "Okay, I know why I'm out of breath but how about you?" Cordelia joked.  
  
Buffy pulled a face and linked her arm with Cordelia's. "Okay, one more sweep and let's head back to the Bronze."  
  
"How was the patrol?" Angel asked as Cordelia came back in and planted herself on his lap.  
  
"Made me realise how out of shape I am." She answered and kissed him gently. "Then again, if someone would let me go out on cases in LA then maybe I would have managed better."  
  
"Did you get hurt?" He looked worried but she shook her head. "Then you're doing okay."  
  
She was about to protest but his lips cut her off.  
  
"Yo dawg, stop macking on Barbie and let's go." Gunn interrupted them with Fred and Wes at his side.  
  
Cordelia sighed. "Come on big guy, let's go."  
  
They waved goodbye to the Scoobies and left.  
  
"Harder Angel." Cordelia murmured. "Please!"  
  
He smiled as he ran his hands over her back. She'd insisted that if she wasn't allowed to go out on cases then he had to give her frequent back massages, starting now.  
  
He was sat across her back with one knee on either side of her hips, making sure his weight wasn't on her.  
  
Cordelia dangled her hand over the edge of the bed and stroked Ashleigh's downy head. "She's really beautiful isn't she?"  
  
He smiled. "Just like her mom."  
  
She smiled. "She's got your eyes."  
  
"But she's got your hair and lips. And she's got your nature."  
  
She snorted. "That says nothing. Even Connor has my nature. And he's not mine."  
  
He stopped his rubbing. "Don't say that."  
  
She turned slightly so she could see him. "But he's not Angel. He's Darla's. And yours."  
  
He turned her completely so that she was lying on her back under him. "He is yours. Not biologically but emotionally and physically he is. You're the one he calls mom."  
  
She smiled slightly. "He only said it once."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Angel, I didn't doubt that he was my son, I was just saying that it's good that he's like me. I like it that he's like me."  
  
He looked pleased. "Okay then."  
  
"What happened to my massage?" She pouted.  
  
He leaned down. "I thought of something better to do."  
  
She laughed as his lips came down on hers.  
  
Cordelia was up at eight feeding Connor and Ashleigh. Lorne joined her in the living area.  
  
"They didn't wake you did they?" She asked as he sat down next to her.  
  
"No, I can sleep through anything." He assured her.  
  
"What are you doing up this early then?" She asked, yawning.  
  
"Routine precious. I get up at eight everyday in LA."  
  
"God, you're mad." She muttered.  
  
Connor finished his food and squirmed off her knee to totter over to Lorne who was pulling a face at the coffee he had in his hand.  
  
"Oh, you shouldn't drink that." She advised and gave Ashleigh her bottle. "It's been here since Angel left Sunnydale."  
  
She laughed as he spat out the coffee he had in his mouth. 


	4. Chapter Four

Title: Family: Return to Sunnydale  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: Sequel to Family: Back to Sunnydale and Family: Forward to LA. Cordelia receives another phone call that leads her once again to Sunnydale.  
  
"Wow, look at you." Angel commented sleepily from the bed as Cordelia pulled on a pair of black leggings and a vest top.  
  
She turned and smiled. "Go back to sleep, it's only twelve and very sunny outside."  
  
He shook his head. "I'm awake now. I might as well come with you."  
  
She shook her head. "No way!"  
  
He looked hurt. "Why not?"  
  
"I'll get self conscious."  
  
"Cor, I've seen you do more than cheerleading, I'm sure you can handle it."  
  
She found herself blushing. "Fine, you've got an hour before I set off. Ash and Connor are downstairs with Wes and Fred. Gunn went out to get coffee and I think Lorne's cooking something in the kitchen. I'm going to go out for a while. There's a CD they've got at the music store that's got some good songs on it. And I need to call at the school before practice to pick up some of the music that I used to use."  
  
He sat up. "Sounds like you're busy."  
  
She nodded and put on her trainers. "Yeah, I'll come back and get you though, if you insist on coming."  
  
He nodded and smiled again.  
  
She went across to give him and kiss and then left.  
  
She came back with the CD's and they set off to the gym through the sewers. Fred had come along to watch the children while Gunn and Lorne went sightseeing with Wes as their guide. On the way Angel killed a vampire but they made it to the gym without any other mishap.  
  
Cordelia lad the way with Ashleigh as they made their way through the school to get to the gym.  
  
"Wow, they rebuilt this pretty well." She commented. "Don't you think?" She asked Angel.  
  
He nodded.  
  
"What do you mean?" Fred asked.  
  
"Oh, sorry Fred. At graduation the mayor turned onto a giant demon and Buffy blew up the school to kill him. It looks the same as it did before." She opened the door to the gym. "Except for the gym."  
  
Gone were the rickety wooden bleachers. They had been replaced with a mass of metal and plastic. There were spotlights all over the place and giant score boards at each end.  
  
Dawn and a couple of her friends were sat waiting.  
  
"Wow, you're here early." Cordelia commented and put Ashleigh's carry cot on the one on the seats.  
  
"You have a baby." One of the cheerleaders said.  
  
"Yeah, she's called Ashleigh." Cordelia told her. "I'm Cordelia, and you are?"  
  
"I'm Megan, and this is Emily and Georgina." They girl who had spoken said.  
  
"Pleased to meet you." Cordelia said brightly and pointed to the CD player. "I'll sort out the music, why don't you warm up? Then we can start as soon as the others get here."  
  
The girls did as they were told and Fred whispered to her. "Wow, very commanding."  
  
"I wasn't too bossy was I?"  
  
"Oh no, I was just thinking that you're maybe like the cool young teacher who is everyone's friend but can in charge when she needs to be." Fred babbled and was pulled down into a chair by Angel. "Oh, I'm sorry I'll be quiet."  
  
By the time Cordelia had chosen songs all the other girls had arrived, some wearing the familiar uniforms and some just wearing sweatpants and vests.  
  
She stood in front of them and smiled. "Okay, since I'm pretty much in the dark about what I'm supposed to be doing, why don't you show me the routine you've got and then we can expand on it."  
  
One of the girls raised her hand. "No offence to you, but aren't you too young to do this?"  
  
"How would you class young?" Cordelia asked her.  
  
"Well, you're what? Twenty? That means you haven't done this before so you can't really help us at all." She glared at Dawn and Cordelia suspected this was one of the girls that were causing problems for her.  
  
"I'm twenty one. I became head cheerleader in my freshman year. I danced for twelve years before that. I've done gymnastics, ballet, kick boxing. I led my team to be the winners of the high school cheerleading championships twice." Cordelia said. "That means I have more experience than any of you so maybe you should do what I tell you and see where we end up, okay?"  
  
No one complained but they did get up and get into positions.  
  
"Authority at it's best." Angel muttered but Cordelia heard him.  
  
She turned around to pull her tongue out at him.  
  
"Okay, on the count of three! One, two, three!" She shouted.  
  
She watched them go through the routine that they'd been taught with a feeling of panic. It was crap.  
  
"Okay, stop!" She shouted half way through. "I think I'd be better off teaching you another one."  
  
"We aren't any good?" A quiet girl asked.  
  
Cordy backtracked. "No, that's not what I meant; I meant that the routine is crap. There's no beat to it. The best cheerleader in the world couldn't make it look good."  
  
"Wait a minute." The girl who'd questioned Cordelia earlier interrupted. "I'm the captain; I should have some say in this. You can't expect to waltz in here and take over."  
  
"What's your name?" Cordy asked.  
  
"Brittany."  
  
"Look, I've been asked to coach you and by the looks of it you could use my help. But if you want to refuse my help then you can. But that means you have to do this crap routine that's going to get you nowhere." Cordelia stated. "It's no skin off my nose if you don't want me."  
  
"Fine, we'll handle this on our own." Brittany said.  
  
"Wait!" Dawn cried. "You can't do that, we need her."  
  
Brittany shot Dawn a dirty look.  
  
"Why don't we put it to a vote?" Fred suggested. "Whoever wants Cordy's help raise your hand."  
  
The majority of the girls raised their hands, much to the disgust of Brittany.  
  
"Fine." She pouted. "But it'd better be a good routine."  
  
"Okay." Cordelia clapped her hands. "I'll put the first piece of music on and you can get the feel of it."  
  
She shot a smile at Fred and went to play the first song. All of the girls seemed to like it so she started to show them how to dance to it.  
  
"Cordelia must have been really popular at school if she did moves like that." Fred commented to Angel as they watched Cordelia teach the girls some fairly racy moves. Angel watched her intently. "I guess, but I think she was popular anyway. They Scoobies used to call her Queen C."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"The license plate of her car had Queen C on it." Angel smiled. "She used to be a complete bitch at school. She was probably popular because people were scared of her."  
  
Brittany, who had gone to get a glass of water, raised an eyebrow in interest at Angel. Queen C huh, she'd show her.  
  
"You have to get you leg up higher." Cordelia instructed one of the girls who instantly got her leg a couple of inches higher.  
  
The song that they were dancing to was upbeat and poppy and was perfect for the effect Cordelia was trying to create.  
  
"Your arm needs to straighten." She told Dawn. "That's better."  
  
She saw Angel lift Ashleigh out of her carry cot and then heard her crying. "Okay guys, you've got a five minute break."  
  
She went to sit cross-legged on the floor next to Angel where Connor was sat with some toys. "Hey little guy, having fun?"  
  
He looked up and grinned at her.  
  
"You looked good out there." Fred told her.  
  
"They're not that bad really, although I have no idea what their coach had been teaching them."  
  
Angel looked down at her. "Do you want some water?"  
  
She nodded and accepted it gratefully. "Thanks baby."  
  
He put Ashleigh in one arm and rested his other hand on her shoulder. "You feel hot."  
  
"That's probably something to do with me being out of shape and not allowed to go on cases."  
  
He smiled. "It's not going to happen."  
  
"Oh, come on Angel." Fred joined in. "You know she'll wear you down eventually."  
  
"I agree." Buffy said as she came into the gym and sat down with them.  
  
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"Well, I came to see if you and Fred want to come over to my place tonight for a girly night. You know girl talk and alcohol."  
  
"Sounds good." Fred answered for both of them.  
  
"And you wanted to see how the practice was going." Cordelia added.  
  
"Of course." Buffy agreed.  
  
"Well, in that case." Cordelia began and stood up. "You can help."  
  
"What, me?" Buffy looked panicked as Cordelia took her hand and began dragging her across the gym to where the girls were gathered. "I can't cheerlead, I went to one practice!"  
  
"Well, it just so happens that I'm teaching them that routine!" Cordelia smiled. "Now, cooperate, you're worse than them."  
  
The women, minus Dawn sat around the coffee table in Buffy's front room. On the table there were plenty of bottles of tequila and vodka and Buffy had scattered cushions on the floor for them to sit on.  
  
Practice had been exhausting for Cordelia and even Buffy was slightly worn out. The cheerleaders had been taught about half of a routine so as long as they remembered everything it would be easier next time.  
  
"So, who's up for a game of truth or dare?" Anya asked, looking around at the others.  
  
Willow pulled a face. "Isn't that a bit juvenile?"  
  
"We can be juvenile." Tara said.  
  
Buffy raised her hand. "Whoever wants to be juvenile raise their hand."  
  
All the girls raised their hand and laughed.  
  
"Okay, but what are the dares going to be?" Fred asked Anya.  
  
"I'm sure we can think of something." She replied. "Okay, Buffy, you first!"  
  
"Why do I have to go first?" She complained taking a swig of tequila and pulling a face.  
  
"You have the most to tell." Cordelia smirked.  
  
Buffy pulled a shocked face at Cordelia then shrugged. "Okay, I guess I do."  
  
Cordelia snorted. "You guess?"  
  
"Okay, I'm asking this question." Anya said testily. "Buffy, truth or dare?"  
  
"Okay, I'll take truth for five hundred."  
  
"Who was the best in bed? Spike, Angel or Riley?" Anya asked smiling. She loved this game.  
  
Buffy blushed. "I really have to answer that?"  
  
Cordelia poked her. "Of course, besides I'm kind of curious to see if I picked the right vampire."  
  
"Okay, Angel was sweet and gentle which was good." Buffy began but was interrupted.  
  
"Sweet and gentle? Angel?" Cordelia asked in disbelief.  
  
"Hey, my question." Buffy carried on. "Riley was good but too homeboy for me. Spike is just pure passion on legs. It started as a danger thing and the danger never left."  
  
Cordelia raised an eyebrow at her again. "Sweet and gentle?"  
  
"He was!" Buffy argued.  
  
"Not even a little passion? I don't believe that." She shook her head.  
  
"Me neither." Fred added. "Not that I've ever slept with Angel of course. I meant, my room is only down the hall from you guys."  
  
Cordelia's mouth opened. "You can hear us?"  
  
Buffy laughed and Tara looked embarrassed for her.  
  
"Yup." Fred replied. "But I didn't want to say anything."  
  
"I think someone should ask Cordelia a question." Anya suggested, helping herself to the vodka.  
  
"I second that." Willow added smiling.  
  
"Okay then, give me your best." Cordelia said with a shake of her head, sitting up a little.  
  
"Okay Cordy." Buffy began. "How far did you go with Xander?"  
  
"That's not a very good question." Anya stated.  
  
"You didn't ask me truth or dare." Cordelia pointed out.  
  
"Would you really pick dare?" Buffy asked.  
  
"No." Cordelia admitted. "Okay, Xander. Well, we knew the inside of every closet a school. We took the whole danger thing very serious!" She joked. "We got to touching and groping but never actual." She made a few motions with her hands. "Insertion."  
  
They all laughed, even Anya, but then Buffy thought of something. "What kind of insertion?"  
  
"Sex." Cordelia looked at her like she was dumb.  
  
"So you did other kinds of insertion?" Buffy asked, an evil glint in her eyes.  
  
Cordelia blushed. "I never said I didn't."  
  
Buffy and Willow screamed. "Oh my God, you did things with Xander!"  
  
"Well, I was with him for a long time." Cordelia explained laughing and took a big drink of her tequila. "He was nice and normal."  
  
"By that she means he was a geek." Willow told Fred and Tara. "And not the usual jock she dated."  
  
"Hey!" Cordelia said, not unkindly. "That was low! My question goes to you!"  
  
Willow smiled, if someone had told her three years ago that she'd end up friends with Queen C then she'd have never believed them. Now she was sat playing truth or dare with her and making fun of her without getting bitched at.  
  
"Okay Willow." Cordelia started, completely abandoning the dare part of the question. "What are the pluses of being a lesbian?"  
  
Willow thought for a minute. "Well, with a woman you don't have to worry about whether or not your makeup is done right or if your legs aren't shaved because they know exactly what it's like being a woman. You don't have to worry about getting pregnant!" She joked and looked at Tara tenderly. "Women are a lot gentler and care about your feelings."  
  
"Men are pigs." Anya added then looked at the startled faces around her. "I didn't mean Xander. When I was a vengeance demon more women had me send their men to hell because they didn't understand how much effort it takes to be a woman. I think one woman even had me turn her man into a woman and then turned lesbian herself."  
  
"I don't know why Angel stuck with me while I was pregnant." Cordelia told them. "I couldn't shave my legs because I couldn't reach. I didn't put makeup on or do my hair because I just couldn't be bothered. I must have looked like an urchin!"  
  
"Oh, Cordy, you looked beautiful." Fred said honestly but the alcohol was clearly affecting her as it was a very un-Fred thing to say.  
  
"Thanks Fred, want more tequila?"  
  
She nodded eagerly and accepted the glass.  
  
"Okay, I got a question for you Anya." Willow smiled. "Truth or dare?"  
  
"Truth, I like telling people about myself." Anya said and looked around at what she believed to be her opponents in this game.  
  
"Not too much though, right Anya?" Tara clarified, looking hopeful.  
  
"Of course." Anya smiled.  
  
"Anya, what's the best part of being with Xander?"  
  
"The sex, we try absolutely everything!" She gushed.  
  
"Like what?" Cordelia said evilly, glancing at Buffy out of the corner of her eye who shook her head as if saying she didn't want to know.  
  
"Oh, we've done spanking and bondage and hot wax." She smiled, not embarrassed.  
  
Buffy dropped her head into her hands and shook her head, laughing. Xander was going to kill Anya later when she told him what she'd been telling them all.  
  
"I personally liked the bondage. He tied me up and used me." Anya declared. "You should try it." She said to the room.  
  
Fred looked embarrassed and everyone else was too busy laughing to look embarrassed.  
  
"Xander is going to kill you!" Willow said, voicing Buffy's earlier thoughts.  
  
"Oh no, it was quite safe!" Anya insisted, completely missing Willow's point. 


	5. Chapter Five

Title: Family: Return to Sunnydale  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: Sequel to Family: Back to Sunnydale and Family: Forward to LA. Cordelia receives another phone call that leads her once again to Sunnydale.  
  
Two hours later the game was still going on and the girls were very drunk after drinking nearly all of the alcohol.  
  
"Okay, I think everyone should say where their best sex took place." Anya suggested.  
  
"I'll start." Fred offered in her drunken state. Cordelia had cut her off about a half hour ago but she was still blind drunk. "Charles and I were out on a case and it was boring so we ended up in the back of his truck. The demon we were hunting pounced on us so Charles had to kill it at the same time as thrusting."  
  
"Thrusting?" Cordelia and Buffy exclaimed at the same time and then burst out laughing. Both girls were laid down and Cordelia had her head on Buffy's stomach.  
  
"But then he pulled his pants up and got his thing stuck in the zipper so I had to kill the demon while he unstuck it, it wasn't very pretty."  
  
"Oh my God." Buffy shuddered.  
  
"Oh, the guys are so going to hear about that!" Cordelia vowed.  
  
"I can't believe she just told us that." Tara squirmed.  
  
"Okay Buffy, you go." Cordelia told her when everyone had stopped laughing and had calmed down.  
  
"It was with Spike. We were in the Bronze with everyone and we were up on the catwalk and he came up behind me and we did it with everyone down on the dance floor underneath us."  
  
"When was that?" Willow asked in shock. "Did I see you?"  
  
"I think you waved." Buffy told her enjoying the shock that kept appearing on her friend's faces when someone revealed something shocking. "Cordelia, you!"  
  
"Angel and I were in the lobby and I was sat on his lap." She looked at Fred. "You guys were in Wes's office. We were at it and you came in and I just kind of sat there with him still inside until you'd gone or looked away."  
  
Buffy laughed making Cordelia's head go up and down on her stomach. "Did you, you know?"  
  
"Of course!" Cordelia exclaimed. "I sat there for about ten minutes. I'm not so sure about him though."  
  
They all laughed and Anya took up the challenge next. "Okay, Xander and I were in the magic shop behind the counter while you were all sat at the table on the other side."  
  
Buffy and Willow 'eewed' at the thought of being in the same room as them.  
  
"Okay Willow, or Tara, I'm not really bothered which, you're turn." Buffy ordered.  
  
The two girls looked at each other and Tara began to speak. "Probably the first time. It was really sweet and new and very intimate."  
  
Cordelia swivelled her head so she could look at Buffy. "That suddenly makes us all look very sleazy."  
  
Buffy nodded. "Very sleazy, isn't it good?"  
  
Cordelia laughed and swivelled her head back around. "Someone has got to do a dare."  
  
"Why don't we all do one?" Anya suggested.  
  
"Ooh, that sounds good!" Fred chimed in from her position draped off the end of the sofa.  
  
"Where did the guys go?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"To the Bronze I think, why?" Willow asked.  
  
"I've got an idea." She smirked.  
  
A half hour later the girls were all out on the streets heading to the Bronze. They were now dressed up and had put some more makeup on. They were still terribly drunk and a phone call to the Bronze from Cordelia had confirmed her plans. The other had loved the idea and had all chipped in together to make themselves look gorgeous.  
  
Buffy had dressed in a pair of leather pants and a red shirt. She'd pulled her hair behind her ears and curled it, finishing the look off with red lipstick.  
  
Cordelia had also opted for leather pants but had teemed them with a low cut white top which showed off her cleavage and had pulled her hair up on her head letting a few strands fall down her face in tendrils.  
  
Willow had chosen a black dress and black stilettos while Tara had chosen a white dress. Both girls had their hair tied up and pinned with fake flowers.  
  
Anya and Fred had opted for jeans and floaty tops and had left their hair to hang down their backs.  
  
The owner of the Bronze still remembered Cordelia, due to their relationship when Cordelia had been in high school. She'd been involved in planning almost every dance and had negotiated with the owner on several occasions. He'd let her do this as a favour due to the money she'd made for the Bronze at the dances.  
  
They went in the back door so the guys didn't see them. Jonnie, the bouncer, let them in the back door and admired the drunk young women as they stumbled through the door and made their way to the side of the stage. Buffy and Cordelia peered around the stage curtain and saw the guys sat in a table near the bar.  
  
"They can see the stage." They told the others and then Cordelia saw Mr Edmond, the owner.  
  
"Thanks for letting us do this." She told him and hugged the middle aged balding man who enjoyed the hug a little too much. "Here's the music."  
  
She slipped a tape into his hand and then the girls went to stand on the stage behind the curtain. They were all giggling and swaying a little.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen." Mr Edmond said into the microphone on the other side of the curtain. "We have a special treat tonight. A group of young ladies would like to do a dance for you all."  
  
Angel turned to Spike. "They wouldn't, would they?"  
  
Spike grinned. "I hope so, sit back Peaches. Enjoy the show."  
  
The opening beat of Christina Aguilera's Dirty came through the speakers and the curtain opened to reveal the girls all in very controversial positions, but not showing anything they shouldn't. Fred and Anya were more or less leaning onto each other while they were dancing. Willow and Tara were locked in some sort of couply dance and were oblivious to the others around them. Cordelia and Buffy on the other hand were involved in a very sexy dance that looked like they should be on the bar in Coyote Ugly. The guys and every other man's eyes in the club were glued on the women on stage.  
  
Angel put a hand over his eyes deciding he didn't want to see but then lowered it, deciding he did. He knew that it was a bad idea to let them have a girly night in with alcohol. Lots of alcohol. He flinched as he saw Buffy and Cordelia run their hands all over each other. Spike, on the other hand, was actually enjoying it and earned a smack off Angel for it. Gunn and Xander looked to be enjoying the show also. Lorne, who was dressed in a black trench coat a cowboy hat to disguise his green skin, leant over to Angel. "Wow, princess looks good in those pants, especially when she's got another girl in leather pants rubbing up against her."  
  
Angel frowned at him and checked on Connor and Ashleigh who were in their carry cots on the floor in between his and Lorne's chairs.  
  
Back on the stage Buffy and Cordelia burst out laughing as they saw the looks on Spike and Angel's face. Cordelia smiled at her when an idea popped into her head and pulled Buffy towards her, tilting both of their heads. From the audience it looked like they were making out. Instead Cordelia was whispering to Buffy. "I think Spike's enjoying the show, I'm not so sure about Angel."  
  
Buffy laughed. "It's kind of funny."  
  
They heard a thump behind them and they turned to see Fred in a lump on the floor, in front of the stage where she'd fallen off the end. Anya was stood on the edge of the stage where she'd dropped off the edge with a hand over her mouth.  
  
Cordelia woke up at eleven the next morning. She was sprawled across the end of Angel's bed with her head dangling off the edge. She groaned when she tried to lift it and in the end just let it hand. She closed her eyes and remembered the night before. She couldn't believe she'd danced on the stage at the Bronze. And did a sexy dance with Buffy. And Fred falling off the stage, God, I hope she's okay. Angel had ended up half carrying her home, leaving Lorne to carry Connor and Wes to carry Ashleigh. She remembered telling the girls stuff that she'd never normally tell them.  
  
She closed her eyes again hoping to go back to sleep.  
  
Angel came into the room and opened the dresser door quietly and then slammed it.  
  
She jumped up and grabbed hold of her head in pain. "Asshole!" She hissed and sank back onto the bed.  
  
He smirked and came to sit next to her on the edge of the bed. "Feeling okay?"  
  
"You know I'm not." She murmured and felt his hand stroke her back.  
  
"How much did you drink before you turned lesbian lap dancer?" He asked.  
  
She opened an eye and glared at him. "Not that much."  
  
He smiled. "I'll bet."  
  
"How's Fred?" She asked and turned so she was facing him.  
  
"Not up yet." He stoked her cheek.  
  
"Oh, so Gunn didn't take it upon himself to bang around until she woke up?" She said testily and shuffled until she was comfy. "When did I get naked?"  
  
"When we made love."  
  
She looked surprised. "We did that last night?"  
  
He nodded. "Of course, you don't remember?"  
  
"Of course I do, I was testing to see if you knew." She replied with a smile.  
  
He pulled a face at her. "You have to get up."  
  
"Why?" She pouted. "It's early."  
  
"It's eleven o clock and Dawn called saying that you've got a practice at one." He smiled at the forlorn look on her face.  
  
"One? What was she thinking? She didn't by any chance mean one am did she? I mean, we are in Sunnydale. Everything happens at night."  
  
He shook his head. "You are so enjoying this." She accused and rolled over again, closing her eyes.  
  
He leant down and kissed the back of her neck until she opened them again. "I'm not going to get any more sleep am I?"  
  
He shook his head and watched in amusement as she wobbled off the end of the bed and swayed her way to the bathroom.  
  
"Angel?" She called from inside. "Did me and Buffy actually. never mind."  
  
Cordelia and Angel went to the gym at a quarter to one. Fred had finally gotten up but had thrown up a few times. Wes and Gunn had looked on in amusement as she flinched when Ashleigh had cried. Luckily Lorne had offered to look after her and Connor so Cordelia could go run the practice. He said he might drop by later on when he look them out for a walk.  
  
Dawn was already at the gym with a few of the other girls.  
  
"Cordelia hi!" She shouted.  
  
Cordelia flinched. "Not so loud."  
  
Dawn smirked. "Wow, you look like Buffy did when I woke her up this morning."  
  
"Yeah well, you should see Fred." Cordelia replied and threw her bag on the floor, settling herself onto the bleachers. "And you woke her up? Never wake up someone who's had too much to drink the night before. The words bear and sore head come to mind."  
  
"They came to my mind too this morning but I didn't wake you up." Angel added.  
  
"Well, look at the legendary cheerleader this morning." Brittany snipped as she walked across with a couple of the other girls. "All bedraggled and aging and looking like she's had some wear and tear. Dawn, you really could have picked us someone a little more athletic."  
  
"Bite me Brittany." Cordelia said. "When you're old enough to drink you can bitch about me but until they back off and go warm up."  
  
"Wow, look at Queen C this morning." Brittany replied. "Bad night?" She turned to Angel. "Waking up next to that this morning must have been rough. If you want to wake up next to something a little classier, give me a call."  
  
She sauntered off leaving Angel to look after her in confusion. "What just happened?"  
  
"You were hit on honey, by a high school girl." Cordelia clarified and grabbed a water bottle.  
  
"Why do you let them do that?" Dawn asked when they were out of earshot.  
  
"If I was to bitch back then I would be as bad as she is." She explained. "I did it once and I don't want to be like that anymore. Besides, I'm the adult and she's the child!" Dawn laughed and went off to warm up with the others.  
  
"I think you're growing as a person." Angel commented jokingly. 


	6. Chapter Six

Title: Family: Return to Sunnydale  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: Sequel to Family: Back to Sunnydale and Family: Forward to LA. Cordelia receives another phone call that leads her once again to Sunnydale.  
  
"Come on, anyone would think it was you lot that are hung over!" Cordelia shouted. "Move!"  
  
"Why don't you join in then?" Brittany snipped. "Show us what you've got? Then we have an idea of what we're supposed to be doing!"  
  
Cordelia glared at her. "Fine! Give me a minute."  
  
She marched back to where Angel was sat.  
  
"I just shot myself in the foot." She muttered and took off her jacket to reveal a very skimpy top. She slipped off Angel's sweatpants so she was just wearing a pair of shorts.  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her outfit. "Wow." He said simply.  
  
She gave him a quick kiss and went back to the girls. "Okay, this is how you should be doing it."  
  
She pressed play on the CD player and began the routine.  
  
She'd choreographed it so that when it was done properly it was very sexy and very fast and incredibly perfect when performed properly. And Cordelia did perform it properly.  
  
Angel was so engrossed in watching her cheer that he didn't notice Lorne had sat down next to him until she had finished.  
  
"Well, the princess certainly knows what she's doing doesn't she?"  
  
Angel nodded, never taking his eyes off Cordelia. "She looked, uh, amazing."  
  
Lorne sighed. "Angel cakes, your son is trying to get your attention."  
  
Angel instinctively picked Connor up and watched as Cordelia flung a few orders at the squad and then came back for some water.  
  
"Angel, baby, you can close your mouth." She instructed with a smile.  
  
He did.  
  
"I take it the routine looked better when I did it." She commented and sat down next to him, letting her arm brush his. She took a swig of the water. "It might have been better if my head wasn't thumping as much as it is."  
  
"It was perfect." He assured her.  
  
She smiled at Connor and played with his hair. "Your daddy was just looking at my body, he wasn't interested in whether or not I did the routine right."  
  
Connor blew a bubble and looked at Angel. Almost guiltily, Angel thought. "I'll be back in a minute." She suddenly said and ran out of the gym with a hand over her mouth.  
  
Lorne chuckled. "I guess last night just caught up with her."  
  
A couple of the cheerleaders came to sit next to them. "Why are you dressed like that?" One of them asked Lorne.  
  
He began to explain how he was auditioning for the part of school mascot but he wasn't sure whether the horns looked realistic.  
  
"So, you're Angel." Brittany said and sidled up to Angel.  
  
He nodded and kept focused on Connor.  
  
"Are both of those babies yours?" She asked.  
  
He nodded again.  
  
"You know, you don't have to stick with her if you don't want to. There's always someone younger and better looking if you want them." Brittany told him. "All you have to do is ask."  
  
"Hey Brittany, why don't you just leave it?" Dawn interrupted angrily.  
  
"What's it to you?" Brittany sneered.  
  
"Cordy's my friend and she and Angel are in love, you'll never get through them."  
  
Brittany stood up as did Angel, who thrust Connor into Lorne's arms. "Look, why don't we leave it."  
  
"I realise you feel the need to protect me but it's okay Angel." Brittany said sweetly and then turned to Dawn. "I'm the captain; I can pull rank on you and get you kicked off the team if you don't get your nose out of my business."  
  
"What's going on here?" Cordelia asked, coming back into the gym and seeing the commotion. "Nobody is getting kicked off the team. Listen to the word, you're a team. That means you stick together and you get along."  
  
Brittany continued to glare at Dawn so Cordelia waved a hand in front of her face. "That includes you, Miss Captain."  
  
Brittany stalked back towards the rest of the team with one last glance at Angel.  
  
"Dawn, what just happened here?" She asked when Brittany had gone.  
  
"She was trying it on with Angel. I stepped in."  
  
"It's okay Dawn." Cordelia said and put an arm around her shoulders. "I know girls are going to try it on with Angel and I accept that. But I know that he's not going anywhere. If he did I'd break his legs." Dawn laughed. "Brittany doesn't stand a chance."  
  
Dawn looked a bit better as she went back to the others.  
  
Cordelia pulled on the sweatpants again. "So, Brittany has a crush on you."  
  
"She doesn't even come close baby." Angel promised and kissed her.  
  
"I know that." Cordelia looked at him like he was dumb. "It's just another way for her to piss me off."  
  
She went back to the team and told them to go home and practice.  
  
She came back to Angel. "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned by how pale she was.  
  
"I'm fine, apart from the giant hangover." She though for a moment. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that dance."  
  
He put his arm around her after she'd picked up Connor. "I'll pamper you this afternoon."  
  
"I'd take him up on that muffin." Lorne advised.  
  
She grinned and they left the gym together.  
  
"Cordelia, for God's sake, keep still." Angel ordered.  
  
She giggled. "Sorry."  
  
He flicked water at her. They were both sat in the bathtub.  
  
"This is nice." He commented and wrapped his arms around her wet body.  
  
"Yeah." She murmured and traced a pattern on his arm with her fingertips. "Do you think we could have an early night tonight?"  
  
"We could do." He supposed. "That is, if Lorne could look after the children. Again."  
  
"Do you think he minds?"  
  
"No." He shook his head. "He likes to look after them. Besides, he'd say if he didn't."  
  
She nodded and accepted his answer. "Why don't we look after them tonight? Spend some time with them?"  
  
He kissed the top of her head. "That sound like a good idea."  
  
She smiled and turned slightly so that he could kiss her lips.  
  
There was a knock at the door and she groaned. "Guys, when you've done canoodling in the bathtub, we're ordering pizza if you want some." Lorne said through the door.  
  
"I don't eat!" Angel shouted back.  
  
"I do!" Cordelia exclaimed. "Yeah, we'll have pizza Lorne, thanks!"  
  
"Sure things sweet cheeks." Lorne shouted back. "Oh, and Cordelia? Make sure Angel Cakes gets enough loving, he gets grouchy when he doesn't get any!"  
  
"Okay guys, you have pizza?" Cordelia asked as she and Angel came into the living area.  
  
Gunn pointed to the boxes on the table. "Help yourself."  
  
She selected a ham and pineapple and went to sit next to Fred. "Feeling any better sweetie?"  
  
Fred still looked a little green and rather delicate. "I think I'm doing better."  
  
"Not having any pizza?"  
  
"Not that better." Fred decided. "I might have risked a taco but they don't seem to have them here."  
  
"No, ye old town only has the pizza place, a coffee shop and burger joint." Cordelia said dryly. "Not like home sweet home where there's fast food on every corner."  
  
"Homesick Cordelia?" Wes asked with a smile, tucking into his own piece of pepperoni pizza.  
  
She smiled. "A little."  
  
"What's everyone doing tonight?" Lorne asked, a Sea Breeze held in his hand.  
  
"Cordelia and I are going to spend some time with the children." Angel told him.  
  
"You'll have to wait while they wake up." Fred told him. "I put them down while you were in the bath. They're fast asleep in the kitchen in their bassinets."  
  
Cordelia smiled at her. "You're an angel. What's everyone else doing?"  
  
"Willow called and asked us to go to the Bronze." Wes told her. "I think I might go."  
  
The others all nodded their agreement.  
  
"But no alcohol for me." Fred declared.  
  
"That sounds like a good idea." Cordelia agreed with a smile.  
  
"When's your next practice?" Fred asked her.  
  
"Tomorrow. They're running through all the routines tomorrow complete with uniforms."  
  
"Are you going to wear one?" Gunn asked.  
  
Angel looked up in interest but Cordelia shook her head. "They keep insisting that I've got to wear one but I don't think I will."  
  
"Why not?" Fred asked, finally reaching for a slice of pizza. "I'm sure you'll look really cute."  
  
"Thanks Fred, but somehow I don't think it'll look right seen as though I've just had a baby."  
  
"Come on Cor, you know you're perfect." Angel complimented, eager to reassure her, but also eager to see her in the uniform.  
  
Everyone went out around six o clock to meet the Scoobies at the Bronze leaving Cordelia and Angel with Connor and Ashleigh. Wearing a shirt of Angel's Cordelia bathed Connor upstairs in the bathroom while Angel sat in the doorway with Ashleigh. Connor squealed and splashed around in the bath with a large smile on his face.  
  
"He's just like you in the bath." Angel smiled.  
  
"I do not splash around!" She exclaimed.  
  
He snorted with a look on his face that said he didn't believe her.  
  
Cordelia stuck her tongue out at him and turned around to Connor and found herself with a mouthful of soapy water.  
  
Angel burst out laughing as did Connor. "That's my boy!" He said proudly.  
  
Cordelia stood up shaking water from her. "In that case." She said sweetly. "You can bath your boy while I sit and watch!"  
  
He pulled a face but gave her a quick kiss and handed her Ashleigh.  
  
"It's weird." She commented after watching Angel get wet for a while.  
  
"What is?"  
  
"That here we are, a vampire and a seer. One of whom, not me, is clinically dead which means, infertile. And we have two children. We must be mad."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because we fight demons and vampires, we know how much evil there is in the world and we chose to bring two lives into the world. Granted, both of them weren't actually planned but hey, here we are!"  
  
He smiled. "Who would have guessed?"  
  
"Not me!" She said, crossing her legs and cradling Ashleigh to her chest. "God, I don't think I'll ever get over this feeling."  
  
"Feeling of what?"  
  
"The feeling of having two little people who need me and love me and depend on me. The feeling of being complete."  
  
He smiled. "I get that."  
  
She smiled back. "Even though sometimes, like back in LA, I'm sure I'm stuffing up and I feel completely bad about it, there are always the good moments, aren't there?"  
  
"Always." He agreed.  
  
After putting the children to bed Cordelia and Angel curled up together in a large squishy chair downstairs to wait for the others to come in.  
  
"You know one day I'll shanshu." Angel stated absently, stroking her bare leg.  
  
"One day soon probably."  
  
"I was thinking that maybe when I shanshu I could get David Nabbit to get me some official papers, birth certificate, driving license, stuff like that."  
  
She nodded. "He'd do that."  
  
"I know but that's not where I'm heading."  
  
"It's not?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then where are you heading?"  
  
"If you let me finish then you'll find out." He said, exasperated.  
  
She made an elaborate gesture of pretending to zip her lips together.  
  
He smiled. "I meant that now, as a vampire, and being dead, I can't offer you anything normal."  
  
She was about to protest but he held a hand over her mouth and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Jeez Cor, give a guy a chance!"  
  
She nodded mutely.  
  
"As I was saying, until then I can't offer you normal but until then." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewellery box. "I want you to have this."  
  
He placed it in her lap and left it there for her to open. "What is it?"  
  
"Open it." He urged.  
  
Carefully she plucked the box off her lap and held it in trembling fingers. She opened it slowly and breathed in deeply.  
  
Nestled in the box was a white gold engagement ring complete with flawless diamond.  
  
"I just want you to know that when it happens I want to marry you." He told her, looking into her eyes.  
  
She felt them tear up and her voice disappeared. "I'd like that." She finally managed to croak.  
  
Gently he took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto the third finger of her left hand.  
  
She laughed through her tears. "God, I'm engaged!"  
  
He laughed with her and then kissed her.  
  
"Your friend Aura would hate to see this." He said, holding her close.  
  
"I might go see if she's still in town and rub her face in it." She exclaimed happily, gazing at the ring. "The ring is gorgeous."  
  
"I thought you'd like it." He smiled.  
  
"I'll enjoy shoving it in Brittany's face too. Then she might stop pawing all over you." She grinned. "Could be fun."  
  
She kissed him then and he held her tight, savouring the moment.  
  
"I've got some champagne in the kitchen if you want some." He said when they parted, his eyes sparkling.  
  
"If I want some?" She teased. "If?"  
  
He grinned and stood up, taking her with him and then putting her down in the chair.  
  
"I'm engaged!" She squealed again laughing.  
  
From the kitchen Angel heard her and smiled. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Title: Family: Return to Sunnydale  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: Sequel to Family: Back to Sunnydale and Family: Forward to LA. Cordelia receives another phone call that leads her once again to Sunnydale.  
  
"I'm engaged!" Cordelia shouted as Fred, Gunn, Wes and Lorne came into the mansion.  
  
They took a moment to digest this news and then Fred screamed and came to hug Cordelia.  
  
Wes went straight to shake Angel's hand while Lorne went to hug the two ladies. Gunn stood and smiled, feeling kind of awkward. Cordelia noticed and held out an arm to him and he joined the hug.  
  
"Come on Wesley, join in." Fred urged. "And you Angel."  
  
They had a group hug for a moment and then congratulations were said and champagne was poured for everyone.  
  
"To Angel and Cordy!" Wes said, holding up his glass to the hugging couple.  
  
"Angel and Cordy!" They all repeated.  
  
Cordelia walked into the gym with a bag slung over her shoulder that contained all the uniforms and pompoms.  
  
"Morning!" She shouted to the group of cheerleaders. "Ready for a hard day's work?"  
  
There were a few affirmatives but mostly groans.  
  
"Hey, that's not what I want to hear!" She flung the bag on the floor and started to unpack it. "You've got two days until your first game."  
  
"But won't we be, like, totally not ready?" One of the girls asked. "I mean, we only just learnt the routines."  
  
"Yeah, and some of us aren't sure of the routines, I mean, what if we get them wrong?" Another added.  
  
"That's okay, that's what today's for." She began throwing uniforms to the girls. "You can make all the mistakes you want today. Tomorrow is a different story. If there's anything you're unsure of today then you ask and you learn. Tomorrow I want you to be cheering like pros. The hard stuff's over kids, you're just getting to the fun part." She smiled at them. "Okay, get going! Get changed!"  
  
Dawn came up to her. "You said you'd wear one."  
  
"No I didn't." She argued holding out her left hand.  
  
Dawn saw the ring instantly. "Oh my God!" She screamed and jumped up and down. "It's a ring!"  
  
Cordelia smiled. "Yeah, Angel asked me to marry him."  
  
Dawn hugged her. "Congratulations!"  
  
A couple of the other girls heard too and came to congratulate her.  
  
Brittany stood holding her uniform and threw her pompoms on the floor. Damn her.  
  
In the end Cordelia ended up wearing a uniform and was mortified when the AI team showed up complete with babies and some of the Scoobies.  
  
Seeing them Cordelia groaned and tried to mentally make the hemline of the skirt grow longer. She groaned. "Okay guys, keep going! I wanna see all of the next cheer done perfectly, you know this one. Let the music run and when it gets to the next song I'll come help you out, okay?"  
  
"Guess we don't have a choice." Brittany snipped.  
  
"Brittany, I'd get that awkward stick out of your ass now before the game starts unless you wanna see yourself on the bench, okay?"  
  
Brittany's mouth opened and then shut. "You haven't got the power to do that."  
  
"Bitch once more and you'll see what if feels like to polish the rejects bench, okay? Now lead your team!"  
  
Cordelia waited until they'd all began the cheer and then ran over to where the gang had sat on the bleachers.  
  
"Yo girl, nice skirt!" Gunn said and whistled. "That outfit is tight."  
  
She smiled shyly. She kissed Connor and picked Ashleigh up. "Thanks, they made me wear it."  
  
"Looks good." Buffy said. "Fred told me your news, congratulations!"  
  
She hugged Cordelia carefully, as to not hurt Ashleigh. "Thanks Buffy."  
  
She thought of something. "You did a cheer once right?"  
  
Buffy looked at her sceptically and then at Willow and Xander. "Yeah, why?"  
  
"The next one is the one that you learned." She smiled. "Suit up and come cheer."  
  
Buffy shook her head. "No way!"  
  
"Oh come on, don't be a chicken!" Cordelia said and poked her in the side.  
  
"Yeah, go Buff!" Xander urged with a grin.  
  
Cordelia kissed Ashleigh and then put her back in her carry cot. "Come on Buffy, you're not getting out of it!"  
  
She grabbed Buffy by the arm and dragged her to the changing rooms.  
  
Bringing her back she looked as uneasy as Cordelia had done moments later. "Thank God Spike isn't here to see this." She muttered to Cordelia but then groaned as she spotted the bleached blond hair. "What the hell is he doing here?"  
  
Cordelia laughed happily. "He wouldn't miss this for the world, I'm sure!"  
  
Buffy swatted her arm playfully.  
  
"Angel, honey, did you bring water?" Cordelia asked and went to stand in between his legs to kiss him.  
  
He nodded. "Plenty of it."  
  
"Great, I think Buffy's going to need it." She smiled.  
  
"You're evil." He commented smiling also.  
  
"Only in theory."  
  
Buffy stood next to Cordelia very unsure of herself. The music began and Cordelia and the other cheerleaders began to dance. Buffy began copying the very complicated and sexy looking moves about half a second after them. She finally faltered and stopped causing Cordelia to trip over her and take them both to the ground.  
  
They both burst out laughing, joining their gang on the bleachers who were also laughing at them.  
  
Buffy stood up first, giving Cordelia a hand up. "Maybe I should sit this one out."  
  
Cordelia shook her head. "No chance!"  
  
She joined in leading the cheerleaders again, leaving Buffy to try and copy.  
  
When the cheer was finished Buffy was out of breath and Cordelia was breathing heavily.  
  
"Okay guys, go have lunch and then be back here in an hour." Cordelia ordered.  
  
Buffy took her arm as they made their way back to the bleachers. "I can handle slaying and working out, but remind me never to question how much energy it takes to be a cheerleader."  
  
Cordelia laughed.  
  
"What time will you be done?" Angel asked Cordelia as she flopped down on the seat next to him.  
  
"I don't know, why? You have plans?"  
  
"I was thinking maybe we could go out for dinner tonight, you know, to celebrate." He suggested, taking her hand.  
  
"That sounds nice." She smiled. "Especially as you don't eat."  
  
He smiled at her. "Only the best for you."  
  
"I love you."  
  
Cordelia dressed to go out that night in her new dress. Angel opted for his usual outfit of black pants, black shirt and leather coat.  
  
Going down the stairs both Lorne and Gunn wolf whistled, although, at who, Cordelia didn't know.  
  
Cordelia headed straight to Connor and Ashleigh to give them a kiss good night.  
  
Lorne had offered to baby sit but everyone was stopping in anyway. Spike and Buffy had even said they might call round after patrolling.  
  
Cordelia and Angel left in his car and Fred pulled out Twister which she'd brought with her from LA.  
  
"Who's up for a game?" She asked.  
  
Lorne offered to spin so everyone else stood around the mat.  
  
"This is nice." Cordelia said, eating pasta at the little bistro on Main Street. "Do you want to try?"  
  
He pulled a face. "I'm not really a foody."  
  
"I know, but you could make me feel less guilty for eating while you just have wine."  
  
She held out a forkful which he reluctantly took. "Well?"  
  
"It would probably taste better if I hadn't been drinking blood for two hundred and forty nine years." He replied.  
  
She laughed. "So, that reminds me, we've got you bicentennial and a half next year, what do you want to do about it?"  
  
He smiled. "Bicentennial and a half? That's a bit of a mouthful."  
  
"But I bet it tastes better than the pasta, right?"  
  
He laughed. "Yeah."  
  
"So, what do you want to do?" She pressed.  
  
"Uh, nothing." He replied.  
  
"What do you mean nothing, we have to do something!" She exclaimed. "It's not as if anyone else I know is going to be two hundred and fifty."  
  
He pulled a face. "I know."  
  
She put her fork down. "Oh come on, you should have stopped being squeamish about your age when you hit one hundred."  
  
"Jeez Cor, you sure know how to make a guy feel better."  
  
She smiled at him and picked up her fork again. "We could have a party."  
  
He shook his head. "That would mean people and crowds, not really me."  
  
"Okay, well, we could go away somewhere." She suggested.  
  
"Where? Hawaii?"  
  
"Hey, don't be bitter. We could go to aspen. The land of no direct sunlight. You could try skiing."  
  
"Skiing? Can you really see me on skis?" He asked incredulously.  
  
"A couple of years ago I couldn't see you on me, but hey, that happened." She grinned.  
  
He was forced to smile back. "Okay, I'll think about it."  
  
She smiled.  
  
"Hey guys, what have you been up to?" Cordelia asked as she and Angel came into the mansion. "Hey Buffy, Spike."  
  
"We've been playing Twister." Wes said, sporting a bruise on his forehead.  
  
"I take it you didn't win." Cordelia sat and sat down next to him.  
  
"Did you have a good time?" Buffy asked.  
  
Angel nodded. "Cordelia is trying to get me to have a party next year."  
  
"But he is refusing." Cordelia added.  
  
"Peaches, you used to love a good party, if I remember right." Spike commented. "You used to eat the hosts."  
  
Cordelia threw a cushion at him. "Anyone for coffee?"  
  
She received nods from everyone. She ran up the stairs to change quickly and then she went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. She picked up a pile of cups from inside a cupboard and then saw images flash through her head and she began to float. She banged her head on the open cupboard door as she began to float and she dropped the cups on the floor.  
  
Angel came running in and saw her floating, he called out to Wes and Gunn.  
  
"What do you see honey?" He asked, looking up at her.  
  
"A woman, no a girl, she's walking home. There's a demon in an alley. He's going to jump out at her. She won't be able to get away. He's going to rip her into pieces." It was obvious that she could see it as her body convulsed, as if she was trying to get rid of the images and she fell to the floor, or rather, into Angel's arms. "Somewhere off Main Street."  
  
She clung to Angel until her legs stood solid. "We need to go now."  
  
Wes nodded and went back into the other room. "Guys, Cordy's had a vision. A girl is going to be attacked by a demon off Main Street. We need to go now." Cordelia, Angel and Gunn came out of the kitchen.  
  
"This is the easy kind of slaying." Buffy said, grabbing her crossbow and stake. "Can I keep you?"  
  
"Sorry Buff, I'm Angel's." Cordelia smiled weakly.  
  
"Maybe you should stop here." Lorne suggested, seeing how tired she looked.  
  
She shook her head. "No, it's okay, I'm fine."  
  
"Okay, let's go." Wes said, having collected their weapons and Angel's car keys. Gunn and Fred were already in his truck.  
  
"Stop here!" Cordelia ordered Angel, sensing that this was the place in her vision.  
  
Buffy and Spike jumped out of the back of the car ready for action.  
  
"Be careful." Angel urged Cordelia before she'd even got out of the car.  
  
"I always do." She replied.  
  
"Okay." Wes began after getting out of Gunn's truck with him and Fred. "We need to keep back until we see the girl in Cordy's vision then we'll get closer and keep in between her and the demon so she can't get hurt."  
  
Everyone nodded and went into an alleyway to wait.  
  
Almost on cue the girl in Cordelia's vision came out of the coffee shop and began walking their way. They waited while she had gone past and then followed her at a safe enough distance.  
  
The demon in question jumped out at her from behind a dumpster off Main Street on Elder Drive.  
  
Buffy and Angel moved forward first to attack the demon.  
  
"That's the Amara demon!" Wes said. "It killed the old cheerleading coach!"  
  
Cordelia ran to the girl and got her out of the way before the demon could swipe at her.  
  
Spike joined the fight, as did Gunn. Wes came to stand with Cordelia, dragging Fred with him out of harm's way.  
  
"Think they're managing?" Cordelia asked him.  
  
He shook his head. "No."  
  
"Maybe we should help." She suggested.  
  
"Not yet."  
  
Buffy was flung into a shop window and the glass broke setting off the alarms.  
  
Gunn swore. "We've got to get out of here; the cops will be here in a minute."  
  
He was quietened by a blow to the side of the face by the demon.  
  
"Get the girl out of here." Wes said to Fred. "Take Angel's car, drive her home then come back."  
  
She nodded and led the girl to Angel's car.  
  
"Cordelia, we need your demon strength." Wes said to her. "I need you to distract the demon and then take it down the alley where we were hiding. Get it to follow you and we can kill it from behind."  
  
"That alley has an end."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So, I could get trapped before you kill the thing." She argued.  
  
"Jump the wall at the end if you have to."  
  
"Jump? How the hell can I jump a wall?"  
  
"Channel your power and for goodness sake stop arguing! The police will be here shortly and we need to kill the demon before they get here. Don't worry." He reassured. "We'll get your back."  
  
She nodded, satisfied. Now how the hell was she going to get the demon's attention.  
  
"Hey!" She tried calling. "That didn't work." She muttered. "You're so ugly I can't tell the difference between you and a... a. rat?"  
  
The demon turned to look at her as did Angel and Gunn. "A rat?" Gunn asked.  
  
She ignored him. "I bet you want to get me for that, say chase me down the street into an alley where we can chop you into little pieces from behind?"  
  
The demon turned as if to ignore her but turned back and began to move towards her.  
  
"Great, once again Cordy is bait." She muttered to herself as she began to run. "I just love this plan! Channel my power my ass!"  
  
The Amara demon began chasing after her into the alley leaving everyone else to follow.  
  
Cordelia ran down the alley, the demon close on her, until she reached the brick wall at the end. "I have to say I'm not altogether comfortable with this plan!" She shouted around the demon.  
  
"We got your back chit!" Spike shouted back. "Hold on!"  
  
"To what? I've already lost my freakin' dignity!" Cordelia shouted back as the demon tore a hole in her Gucci jacket. "Hey ass wipe that cost three hundred dollars! You are so going to die horribly!"  
  
"You paid three hundred dollars for that?" Angel asked in disbelief.  
  
"No the issue right now honey!" Cordelia shouted back, gritting her teeth. "Will you start to kill the demon instead of just talking to me round it?"  
  
They all began hitting the demon from behind until it turned away from Cordelia. Then with a sweep of its giant arm her knocked them all aside and ran away. Buffy made a vain attempt to chase him but he'd gone.  
  
Cordelia went to help Angel up off the floor and then gave her hand to Wes, who was grimacing and rubbing his back.  
  
"Are you okay?" She asked him.  
  
He nodded reassuringly. "Absolutely fine. Why don't we regroup back at the mansion?"  
  
Lorne made cups of tea for everyone while they sat on the couches in the living area. Cordelia went to change out of her torn jacket and bring Ashleigh and Connor from upstairs. As soon as they'd heard her they'd woken.  
  
She flopped down on the couch next to Angel with Ashleigh and left Connor to toddle around to Gunn and Wesley. "So, what's the next move?"  
  
"Well, obviously the Amara is still feeding so we need to step up our efforts in finding out where he is habiting and who his next targets might be."  
  
"I'll patrol again on the way home, see if he left a trail and then step up my patrolling as of tomorrow." Buffy offered.  
  
"Yes, maybe Spike could help you with that?" Wes asked.  
  
Spike nodded.  
  
"I can check the Internet and the newspapers." Fred offered. "See if there's anything going on."  
  
Wes nodded. "I'll contact Mr Giles and maybe he and Willow can research for me. Maybe Tara could do a spell to try and locate the Amara."  
  
"Research party!" Cordelia exclaimed. "Sounds like we need pizza."  
  
"And beer." Spike added.  
  
He received dirty glances from the newly sober women in the room. "Or maybe not."  
  
"Okay, can we get started please?" Wes ordered.  
  
The research party went nowhere. Cordelia had fallen asleep on the couch with Ashleigh asleep on her chest and a book resting on her knees. Gunn had abandoned the research and had ended up playing scrabble with Xander and Anya, who had come to help. Giles and Wesley had come up with nothing, as did Fred, Willow and Tara. Buffy called when she and Spike had gotten home after patrol and reported nothing except a couple of vampires. They decided to stop home with Dawn who was practicing her cheers in the front room.  
  
Angel had decided to announce his and Cordelia's engagement to the Scoobies. Willow and Tara had bagged bridesmaid rights. Xander had looked angry and then envious and then received a slap around the face from Anya. Giles had been speechless and had managed to shake both of their hands before blushing and congratulating them both.  
  
Lorne entertained the workers by singing his favourite Barbara Streisand songs until Angel threw a cushion at him and he'd settled for just making tea and coffee. Overall, the came up with nothing. The Amara had disappeared.  
  
Angel carried Cordelia upstairs while Lorne took Ashleigh. Connor had been put to bed hours before after tiring himself by walking around after Lorne.  
  
Cordelia stirred but didn't wake as Angel placed her on the bed. Lorne put Ashleigh in her bassinet and then turned to watch Angel.  
  
"You know kitten, the Amara might be after her."  
  
"What?" Angel asked, looking up suddenly. "No, it doesn't know her."  
  
"By the sounds of it it doesn't know many people. Keep an eye out. It could be after any one of our ladies." He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I will." Angel promised. "Now will you leave before you see more of Cordelia than I care you to?"  
  
Lorne grinned. "Oh come on, like I can't get my own sex kitten!"  
  
Angel raised an eyebrow. "Goodnight Lorne."  
  
Cordelia woke as Angel slipped the pants down her legs.  
  
"I was trying not to wake you." He insisted.  
  
"It's okay." She murmured. "You should have woken me downstairs."  
  
"You looked too peaceful." He smiled and slipped her panties off too.  
  
"And what do I look like now?"  
  
"Aroused, sensual."  
  
"Rumpled?" She added with a smile.  
  
He laughed softly. "Not at the moment, but if you have the urge." He let the sentence trail off and he leant down to kiss her.  
  
She broke it gently. "There are way too many clothes in this equation for me."  
  
He laughed and began unbuttoning his shirt. "Get that shirt off then!"  
  
She raised an eyebrow and crossed one of her legs over the other. "I don't take orders from you at work so what in the world makes you think I'm going to take orders from you in bed?"  
  
He pulled a face. "Once upon a time you would take orders from me."  
  
She snorted. "The only time I did something you told me to was to take the ring and say I'd marry you."  
  
He thought for a moment. "Just take the shirt off!"  
  
She laughed and took her shirt off. "Can we stop talking now?" She breathed as he settled closer to her, electricity jumping between them.  
  
"Your wish is my command." He whispered as he leaned in to kiss her. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Title: Family: Return to Sunnydale  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: Sequel to Family: Back to Sunnydale and Family: Forward to LA. Cordelia receives another phone call that leads her once again to Sunnydale.  
  
Cordelia took Ashleigh downstairs early the next morning and jumped a mile when she saw Buffy and Spike sat on the couch.  
  
"What on Earth are you doing here at seven in the morning?" She asked crabbily, pulling down the lapels of Angel's shirt that she was wearing.  
  
Buffy just smirked at her. "Long night?"  
  
"Ha ha." Cordelia shouted over her shoulder as she went into the kitchen. "So, you're here because..?"  
  
"There was a report on the news this morning that I knew you wouldn't have seen because hello, no TV."  
  
"Peaches really should modernise this place." Spike mused.  
  
"What did it say?" Cordelia asked, Buffy ignoring Spike and mixing formula in a bottle.  
  
"A woman has been found murdered in the woods, near the old factory."  
  
"Fond memories." Cordelia said dryly, touching her abdomen briefly.  
  
"Sorry about that chit." Spike said, suddenly realising the meaning behind her words.  
  
"The woman?" Cordelia urged, placing the bottle in the microwave for a few seconds.  
  
"She was slashed over her body until she bled to death or either died from pain." Buffy replied, watching as Cordelia tested the milk on her wrist and then sat down to feed Ashleigh.  
  
"So, what do we do?"  
  
"I was thinking that we wake Wes up and get him to decide." Buffy admitted with a grin.  
  
Cordelia smiled back. "Sounds fun!"  
  
She stood up and gave Ashleigh to Spike. "Feed her for me."  
  
He looked a bit frightened.  
  
"Typical, he fights demons and vampires everyday but ask him to look after a baby and he goes wimpy." Buffy complained fondly.  
  
"I aint no wimp!" Spike complained.  
  
Buffy and Cordelia crept up to Wes's bedroom door laughing and giggling, with ice cubes in a cup.  
  
"Quiet!" Cordelia whispered. "Open the door."  
  
"What are you doing?" Fred asked loudly from behind them.  
  
Cordelia and Buffy both jumped a mile, Buffy banging into the wall.  
  
"Dammit Fred, we're trying to be quiet." Cordelia said laughing once again. "We're going to wake Wes up."  
  
She held up the ice cubes. "That's cruel." Fred scolded. "Can I help?"  
  
They all laughed and Buffy opened the door. "Ssh!"  
  
They crept over to the bed where Wes was laying on his back, his chest bare; an arm slung over his the top of his head.  
  
The three girls grabbed an ice cube each.  
  
"One, two, three." Cordelia counted quietly.  
  
Simultaneously they dropped their ice cubes on Wes's chest.  
  
He shot up out of the bed screeching like a girl. Without his glasses on he was almost blind so they ran out of the room quickly before he could see them.  
  
"I'll get you." Wes threatened. "Whoever you were!"  
  
Hearing Wes's scream, Gunn, Angel and Lorne were all in the living area very quickly thinking that someone was in trouble.  
  
Seeing the three girls doubled up in laughter they quickly decided that they weren't.  
  
Wes came stumbling out of his room, his sheet wrapped around his waist. "Who and what was that?"  
  
Seeing Wes come out of his room the women straightened up and pretended that they weren't laughing.  
  
They all simultaneously pointed to the three men stood there oblivious.  
  
"Believe me when I say that you will not get away with that." Wes said primly and went back into his room.  
  
"Was he naked under there?" Buffy whispered to Cordelia and Fred which made them erupt in giggles again.  
  
"Okay, Fred, can you find out as much as you can from the Internet about the woman?" Wes asked. "Buffy, if you could go to the morgue and get DNA samples from the wounds then we can have them tested at the lab and have some idea what we are dealing with. Cordelia."  
  
"I've got practice." She interrupted, holding Ashleigh to her chest.  
  
"Okay, then Gunn. Go to the scene and find out what you can." He concluded.  
  
"Lorne, do you want to come watch practice?" Cordelia asked as she gave Ashleigh to him.  
  
"Sounds good to me kitten." He smiled, accepting Ashleigh willingly.  
  
"Great, I'll go get dressed." She replied and ran up the stairs. "Bye Buffy, Spike!"  
  
"I guess we're going then slayer." Spike commented and took her hand.  
  
"We'll meet at the gym." Wes added as they left through the sewers. "Then we can fill Cordelia in."  
  
Everyone nodded and went their separate ways.  
  
"Okay girls!" Cordelia shouted, standing in front of the girls. "This is our last practice before the game. You cheers need to be louder, your kicks higher and your hair bouncier!"  
  
They all laughed.  
  
"Okay, let's get started!"  
  
The girls all went to get in positions except Dawn, who came to talk to Cordelia.  
  
"Can I talk to you?" She asked nervously.  
  
"Of course you can Dawnie." Cordelia smiled.  
  
"Well, it's about Brittany." She said quietly. "I think there's something wrong with her."  
  
"Like what?" She asked suspiciously, stopping what she was doing to listen to Dawn properly.  
  
"Well, I saw in her locker this morning, she didn't know I could see and there were lots of pill boxes there. I mean loads."  
  
Cordelia nodded. "Okay thanks Dawn, I'll talk to her."  
  
Dawn smiled and went to join her team.  
  
In the lunch break Cordelia went to Brittany and asked to talk to her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lorne wave to Angel, Wes, Gunn and Fred who had come in the gym.  
  
"What do you want?" Brittany asked bluntly.  
  
"To talk." She smiled. "Look, I know how hard cheerleading can be. People who aren't cheerleaders don't understand that. They think it's all about popularity and dressing pretty. But it's a sport."  
  
"Is this leading anywhere?"  
  
"Look, you're the captain. You made it, you're the best. You don't need to pressure yourself into being any better. You know the routines; the rest is going to get easier."  
  
Brittany looked at her blankly.  
  
"Okay, I'll get to the point." She smiled. "You don't need to do drugs."  
  
Brittany looked unsure of herself for a moment. "I don't do drugs."  
  
"Brittany, someone has seen them in your locker. I want you to know that suing steroids or whatever they are don't."  
  
"Who was it?" She exploded and stood up, tearing across to her team mates. "Who the hell was it?"  
  
Cordelia ran after her. "I never said it was one of your team mates."  
  
"So it was you!" She turned on her. "You were snooping in my locker!"  
  
Cordelia held up her hands. "Chill, okay! I haven't been anywhere near your locker."  
  
"Oh come on, you wanted to get something on me so I'd be off the team and then Angel won't see me and be attracted to me!" She screamed.  
  
Cordelia snorted. "Yeah, okay." She turned to one of the girls. "Why don't you go get the nurse, okay?"  
  
She nodded and ran out of the gym.  
  
Cordelia glanced at Angel and his look clearly said 'what the hell is going on here?' she just shrugged and turned back to Brittany. "I can help you; you can still be head cheerleader."  
  
She suddenly let out an inhuman growl. Cordelia stood back, alarmed.  
  
Angel and Gunn came closer; Gunn had his axe in his hand.  
  
"Brittany?" Cordelia tried.  
  
She screamed and seemed to shrink into herself, hiding her face from view.  
  
"The DNA isn't werewolf!" Buffy exclaimed as she and Spike entered the gym. Then she saw what was happening and stopped, grabbing Spike's arm. "Oh God."  
  
"Brittany?" Cordelia tried again.  
  
She looked up and she was wearing the Amara's face.  
  
"Oh God, no." Cordelia muttered.  
  
Angel pushed in front of Cordelia, separating her from the Amara/Brittany.  
  
Brittany's skin began to peel away until all of her body became the Amara.  
  
"What do we do?" Buffy asked. "Kill or capture?"  
  
"Kill?" One of the cheerleaders asked, looking as though she was about to faint. Cordelia noticed the shocked looks on the girls' faces. "Uh, why don't you go down the hall and get some cans of coke?"  
  
They all nodded and eagerly left, except Dawn who went to sit next to Lorne and the babies, out of harms way.  
  
"Kill or capture?" Buffy repeated, moving closer. "Wes?"  
  
"I don't know! She is a girl after all."  
  
"But can we get her back as human?"  
  
"I don't know. The pills she may have been taking could be enabling her to become human for a temporary time. This is the true form, the demon. Brittany is not a person. She's the image the demon had created in order for her to live a human life."  
  
"So we kill?" Angel clarified.  
  
"Yes, I believe we do." Wes replied.  
  
Buffy and Spike moved forward to help Angel and Gunn kill the Amara. Cordelia stood back and let them.  
  
It was Gunn that delivered the final blow, embedding his axe firmly into the demon's throat, chopping its head off.  
  
"Well, looks like I need to appoint a new captain." Cordelia said, to lighten the mood.  
  
Everyone turned to look at her. "After Gunn cleans up the mess he made of course."  
  
He pulled a face at her but went to get some rope from his truck.  
  
"Who was the woman in the woods?" Cordelia asked Fred.  
  
"A gymnast. She was due to compete in a championship this weekend. I guess she won't be now."  
  
"So the Amara killed a cheerleading coach and a gymnast." Cordelia mused.  
  
"Which means that the Amara could have stolen the talents of the two women she killed in order for her alter ego Brittany to be the best cheerleader." Wes finished.  
  
"Is that possible?" Fred asked.  
  
"I believe so, but I'll check with Mr Giles when I see him."  
  
"Okay, I've got a practice to run here so if you great warriors wouldn't mind removing the dead demon from the gym floor, then I would appreciate it." Cordelia smiled sweetly as Gunn returned with the rope.  
  
"By the way." Wes asked. "Who was it that woke me up this morning?"  
  
The outside bleachers were full with cheering and screaming high school students, two vampires, a slayer, a demon, a half demon, two witches, an ex demon, a geppo, a physicist, two babies and two ex watchers. The black street fighter was off fetching popcorn for his physicist girlfriend.  
  
"Okay, final words." Cordelia said and stood in front of the cheerleaders. "You're on your own now. Dawn is your captain. You all look great and as long as you stick to the routines you'll do great okay?"  
  
"Come out and do the first cheer with us Cordy?" One of the girls asked.  
  
She shook her head. "It's your turn to shine, I had my time."  
  
They all smiled and then had a group hug and then they were on their own. Cordelia went to sit next to Angel.  
  
"I wonder if Ashleigh will ever be a cheerleader." He mused.  
  
"Connor could be." He gave her an odd look. "What? Just because there aren't any male cheerleaders on this team doesn't mean that there aren't any."  
  
"If you teach our son to be a cheerleader." He let the threat hang.  
  
She laughed suddenly.  
  
"What?" He asked suspiciously as she laid her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I always wanted to have sex under the bleachers." She laughed.  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "Did you ever do it?"  
  
She snorted. "Oh come on, I dated Xander for most of high school."  
  
He looked pleased. "Come on then."  
  
He grabbed her hand and they sloped off, leaving Ashleigh and Connor with Fred.  
  
Cordelia woke up the next morning and smiled. They were going home.  
  
The game had gone well last night, mainly due to the cheerleaders. The new principle had made a point of coming over to thank her for the work she'd done. They had looked great out there doing all her moves.  
  
Angel felt her stir and opened his eyes. "Morning."  
  
She smiled up at him. "Hi."  
  
"Did you enjoy the game last night?" He teased.  
  
Once they'd gotten in they'd had their own mini football game in their bedroom, causing Wes to come upstairs and bang on their door, telling them to be quiet.  
  
"Which one?" She grinned.  
  
He kissed the top of her forehead.  
  
"I can't wait to go home." She sighed.  
  
"I thought you liked it here now that you and Buffy are friends?"  
  
"I do, but there's no place like out big old dusty, fire damaged hotel." She sighed.  
  
"I will fix that one day." He promised idly.  
  
She nodded sarcastically. "Of course you will."  
  
"You have got to come visit us soon." Cordelia made Buffy promise, hugging her fiercely.  
  
"I will, I promise." She agreed.  
  
Cordelia got in the car next to Angel. "See you soon everyone!"  
  
Angel and Gunn both pulled away from the front of the Summers' house in their vehicles.  
  
The Scoobies were all waving and shouting goodbye.  
  
Cordelia reached across to Angel and held his hand on the seat.  
  
"I love you." She whispered.  
  
He turned to her and smiled. "Always."  
  
The End 


End file.
